Zhc  Hrt0  ant)  Crafts  of  tbe  IRations 

General  Editor:  S,  H.  F.  CAPENNY 


THE  ARTS  AND  CRAFTS  OF  OUR 
TEUTONIC  FOREFATHERS 


Frontispiece 


THE 


ARTS  CRAFTS  OF  OUR 
TEUTONIC  FOREFATHERS 

BEING  THE  SUBSTANCE  OF  THE 
RHIND  LECTURES  FOR  1909 


BY 

G.  BALDWIN  BROWN,  M.A. 

WATSON  GORDON  PROFESSOR  OF  FINE  ART 
IN  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  EDINBURGH 

CONTAINING 

TWENTY-TWO  MAPS  AND  ONE  HUNDRED 
AND  THIRTY  ILLUSTRATIONS 


CHICAGO 
A.  C.  McCLURG  &  CO. 

EDINBURGH  :  T.  N.  FOULIS 
191  I 


PRINTED  BY  NEILL  AND  CO.,  LTD.,  EDINBURGH, 


PREFACE 


This  volume  contains  the  substance  of  the  Rhind 
Lectures  delivered  by  the  writer  before  the  Society 
of  Antiquaries  of  Scotland  in  the  Spring  of  1910. 
The  aim  of  it  is  to  afford  a  general  introduction  to 
the  study  of  the  art  of  our  Teutonic  forefathers,  in 
the  eventful  period  in  which  they  overthrew  the 
Roman  Empire  of  the  West,  and  began  to  found  the 
political  system  of  the  modern  world.  Considerable 
space  is  allotted  at  the  outset  to  those  historical  and 
geographical  facts  which  underlie  the  artistic  phe- 
nomena of  the  period,  and  in  particular  the  move- 
ments and  settlements  of  the  various  peoples  are 
followed  in  a  series  of  specially  constructed  maps. 

Attention  is  then  directed  to  the  cemeteries  in 
which  most  of  the  artistic  remains  of  the  Teutonic 
tribes  have  come  to  light ;  and  after  some  general 
description  of  these,  and  an  apportionment  of  them 
among  the  different  branches  of  the  Teutonic  race, 
Goths,  Burgundians,  Franks,  Angles,  Saxons,  Lom- 
bards, etc.,  a  survey  is  taken  of  the  different  classes 
of  objects,  such  as  the  weapons  of  the  warrior,  the 

ornaments  and  personal  belongings  of  the  lady,  the 

v 


PREFACE 


urns  and  other  vessels,  that  formed  the  furniture  of 
the  graves.  Illustrations  are  givenof  a  large  number 
of  characteristic  specimens  photographed  by  the 
writer  in  the  various  museums  of  Europe. 

The  objects  which  furnish  evidence  of  the  artistic 
taste  and  skill  of  our  Teutonic  forefathers  having 
been  made  familiar  to  the  reader,  the  chief  problems 
connected  with  their  origin  and  affinities  are  stated 
and  explained,  the  intention  here  being  rather  to 
survey  the  available  evidence,  and  indicate  the  con- 
ditions under  which  solutions  must  be  sought,  than 
to  discuss  at  length  archaeological  questions  which 
would  require  an  apparatus  of  references,  etc.,  for- 
eign to  the  plan  of  the  series.  The  much-debated 
work  of  the  late  Alois  Riegl  of  Vienna  entitled  Late 
Roman  Artistic  Industry  is  subjected  to  criticism, 
and  the  question  of  the  origin  and  history  of  inlaid 
gold  jewellery  receives  a  treatment  corresponding 
to  its  fundamental  importance. 

Great  attention  is  naturally  paid  to  the  interesting 
questions  connected  with  the  materials  and  techni- 
cal processes  used  by  the  artist,  and  the  interesting 
fact  is  brought  into  view  that  in  the  various  pro- 
cesses of  cunning  craftsmanship  our  Teutonic  fore- 
fathers were  well  abreast  of  their  much-lauded  clas- 
sical ancestors  and  their  successors  of  the  medi- 

vi 


PREFACE 


eval  period,  while  in  the  front  rank  of  them  an 
honourable  place  is  taken  by  the  goldsmiths  of 
Anglo-Saxon  Britain. 

It  is  now  recognized  that  in  the  older  days  art  was 
not  as  in  modern  times  a  luxury,  a  mere  adjunct  to 
life,  but  was  the  expression  of  national  and  religious 
feeling,  and  as  such  was  closely  related  to  the  act- 
ivity of  peoples  in  the  practical  and  the  intellectual 
spheres.  It  is  not  pretended  that  the  early  German 
art  dealt  with  in  this  book  was  a  full  and  adequate 
expression  of  what  may  be  termed  the  Teutonic 
genius.  For  such  an  expression  we  have  to  look 
onward  to  the  Gothic  movement  of  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury; but  it  will  at  any  rate  be  shown  in  what  follows 
that  the  art  with  which  we  are  here  concerned  was 
a  national  art,  a  genuine  expression,  though  in  a 
somewhat  crude  and  tentative  fashion,  of  Teutonic 
feeling.  Furthermore  it  must  be  noted  that  the 
forms  and  processes  developed  in  this  early  period 
did  not  die  out,  but  were  taken  up  into  the  later  Rom- 
anesque, to  which  they  supplied  elements  of  sub- 
stantial importance.  No  study  of  European  art  in 
general  can  be  complete  without  taking  into  account 
this  early  manifestation  of  the  artistic  spirit  on  the 
part  of  the  race  that  has  made  modern  Europe. 

It  is  believed  that  the  book  will  supply  a  ground- 

vii 


PREFACE 


work  in  Teutonic  antiquarian  lore,  such  as  will  be 
found  useful  as  a  starting-point  for  those  drawn  to- 
wards special  inquiries  in  branches  of  the  very  large 
and  in  some  respects  difficult  subject.  In  connection 
with  our  own  country  there  are  many  questions  of 
great  interest  and  complexity  that  will  repay  inves- 
tigation, and  in  view  of  the  importance  of  basing 
such  special  studies  on  a  general  survey  of  early 
Teutonic  art  these  pages  may  assist  students  in  the 
initial  stages  of  work  in  this  fascinating  department 
of  the  national  antiquities. 

The  writer  s  grateful  acknowledgements  are  due 
to  the  Directors  of  Museums  at  home  and  abroad, 
who  have  so  liberally  opened  to  him  their  stores ; 
and  he  expresses  his  thanks  for  the  ready  assistance, 
especially  in  matters  geographical,  which  he  has  re- 
ceived from  Mr  Capenny,  the  general  editor  of  the 
series. 

The  reasoned  bibliography  at  the  end  of  the  vol- 
ume will  supply  much  of  the  information  about  auth- 
orities which  generally  appears  in  footnotes,  while 
the  larger  entries  in  the  index  will  assist  readers  by 
bringing  co-related  parts  together  into  groups. 


University  of  Edinburgh, 
October  1910. 


CONTENTS 


I.  INTRODUCTORY       .....  I 

Limits  in  time  and  place  of  the  field  of  study.  Import- 
ance of  historical  and  geographical  considerations  as  under- 
lying the  artistic  facts  of  the  period.  Some  of  the  chief 
problems  that  offer  themselves  for  treatment. 

II.  THE  ARTISTIC  OUTPUT  OF  THE  PERIOD     .  .  IS 

Preliminary  survey  of  artistic  material.  Architectural 
and  sculptured  monuments.  Paintings,  illuminated  manu- 
scripts, mosaics.  The  Church  and  Teutonic  art.  The  Car- 
olingian  Renaissance. 

Review  of  some  of  the  characteristic  products  of  Teuton- 
ic art  and  ornamentation,  with  indications  of  date  and 
provenance. 

III.  ROMAN  AND  TEUTON  .  .  .  .32 

Intercourse  of  Roman  and  barbarian  brought  about  by 
the  military  arrangements  of  the  Empire.  Original  seats 
of  the  Germans.  Aspect  in  which  they  presented  them- 
selves to  the  Romans.  Bodily  presence  and  dress.  Culti- 
vation of  the  horse.  Divisions  and  grouping  of  the  Teutonic 
peoples,  as  bearing  on  their  artistic  history. 

IV.  MIGRATIONS  AND  SETTLEMENTS  OF  OUR  TEUTONIC 

FOREFATHERS  .  .  .  .58 

The  relations  of  the  Romans  with  their  neighbours  in 
the  north  before  the  Migration  Period.  Importance  of  th^ 

ix 


CONTENTS 


Marcomannic  war  of  Marcus  Aurelius.  Early  history,  and 
relations  with  the  Empire,  of  the  Goths.  Historical  and 
artistic  importance  of  the  Goths.  Their  connection  with 
Runic  writing. 

The  Vandals  and  Suevi.  The  Alemanni  and  Bavarians. 
The  Burgundians.  The  Lombards.  The  Franks.  Absorp- 
tion by  the  Franks  of  the  other  Teutonic  kingdoms  of  Cen- 
tral Europe. 

V.  THE  GERMANIC  CEMETERY  .  .  .97 

Location  and  general  arrangement  of  the  cemetery. 
Cremation  and  inhumation.  Orientation  and  tomb  furni- 
ture, with  their  bearing  on  questions  of  date.  Disposal  and 
equipment  of  the  body. 

VI.  ARMS  AND  EQUIPMENT  OF  THE  WARRIOR  .        II 6 

Importance  in  this  matter  of  the  question  Roman  or 
Teuton?"  The  spatha  or  broadsword,  the  scramasax  and 
knife,  the  spear,  the  angon,  the  axe,  the  shield.  Narrative 
of  the  death  of  Teias. 

VII.  PARURE  AND  PERSONAL  BELONGINGS  OF  GERMANIC 

LADIES  .  .  .  .  .131 

Dress  fastenings  :  the  fibula  in  its  different  forms,  with 
a  glance  at  its  development ;  the  buckle,  etc.  Personal 
ornaments :  diadem,  hair  pin  ;  necklet,  especially  of  glass 
beads;  arm  and  finger  ring,  ear  pendant.  Personal  belong- 
ings ;  pouch  and  chatelaine  and  their  appendages. 

VIII.  SEPULCHRAL  OBJECTS  NOT  IN  PERSONAL  USE         .  155 

Coins,  spoons,  crystal  balls,  etc.,  keys,  strike-a-lights, 
etc.  Vessels  ;  sepulchral  urns  and  other  receptacles  of  clay, 
mounted  wooden  buckets,  bronze  bowls,  vases  of  glass. 
Horse  furniture. 

X 


CONTENTS 


IX.  IS  THE  ART  OF  THE  PERIOD  ROMAN  OR  TEUTONIC?  162 

The  early  history  of  the  Teutonic  area  as  bearing  on 
this  question.  Riegl's  Late  Roman  Artistic  Industry  an- 
alysed.   General  probabilities  of  the  situation. 

Importance  of  inlaid  gold  ornaments  ;  their  probable 
origin  and  history  ;  their  distribution  in  the  Teutonic  area. 

X.  TECHNICAL   PROCESSES   AND    MATERIALS    USED  IN 

THE  PERIOD    .  .  .  .  .184 

The  forging  of  arms  ;  damascening,  tausia-work,  and 
plating.  Sheet  metal  work.  Bronze  casting  and  chasing. 
Punched  and  stamped  ornament.  Filigree  and  granulated 
work,  and  its  imitation  in  stamping. 

Niello.  Enamel,  its  previous  history  and  the  technical 
processes  in  use  in  the  Migration  Period.  The  materials 
and  technique  employed  in  inlaying. 

XI.  PROBABLE    SOURCES    AND    HISTORY   OF  TEUTONIC 

ORNAMENT       .....  202 

Magnitude  and  complexity  of  the  subject.  Teutonic 
art  of  the  Migration  Period  in  its  relation  to  other  artistic 
developments  with  which  it  is  connected. 

Grouping  of  the  ornamental  motives  under  considera- 
tion ;  (i)  geometrical  motives,  (2)  motives  drawn  from  plant 
sources,  (3)  animal  motives,  (4)  the  human  face  and  form. 

XII.  ESTHETIC  ESTIMATE  OF  EARLY  TEUTONIC  ART      .  226 

What  is  originality  in  art  ?  The  work  of  the  Greeks, 
the  Japanese,  the  Celts,  as  compared  with  that  of  the 
Germans.  The  strong  and  weak  points  of  old  Teutonic 
design.    Excellence  of  Germanic  craftsmanship. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FIG.  FACING  PAGE 

FRONTISPIECE 

I.  The  Tassilo  Cup,  Kremsmiinster,  Austria  .  ,  .  .  iii 
II.  Fibula  from  Treasure  of  Petrossa,  Bucharest  . 

III.  Gold  Vases  from  Nagy  Szent  Miklos,  Vienna  .       .  .  . 

IV.  Sword  Hilt  of  Childeric,  Bibliotheque  Nationale,  Paris  .  .        , , 

PLATE  I 

1.  Burgundian  Buckles        .       .              .              .  i8 

2.  Part  of  Ruthwell  Cross   „ 

3.  Reliquary  at  St.  Maurice,  Switzerland                           .  ,, 

4.  Gold  Basket  from  Petrossa      .......  ,, 

PLATE  II 

5.  Medallion  of  Valens  mounted  by  a  Barbarian  Goldsmith   .       .  31 

6.  Fibulae,  etc.,  from  Szilagy  Somlyo,  Hungary    .  ,, 

7.  Visigothic  Votive  Crowns,  Musee  Cluny,  Paris.  ,, 

8.  Pectoral  Cross  of  St.  Cuthbert,  Durham  

PLATE  III 

9.  Buckle  found  at  Smithfield,  British  Museum     ....  48 

10.  Bronze  Figure  of  a  German,  Bibliotheque  Nationale,  Paris 

11.  Group  from  Column  of  Marcus  Aurelius  .       .       .  ,, 

12.  Germanic  Lady  in  Waggon,  from  Column  of  Marcus  Aurelius  . 

PLATE  IV 

13.  Runic  Tombstone  at  Canterbury      ......  106 

14.  Plaster  Sarcophagi,  Musee  Carnavalet,  Paris  ,1 

15.  Lombard  Chieftain's  Coffin,  Innsbruck     .       .       .       .  ,. 

16.  Skeleton  with  Tomb  Furniture  from  Reichenhall,  Bavaria 

xiii 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FIG. 

FACING 

PAGE 

Jr  JbA  i  Hi  V 

Early  Viking  Sword  at  Stockholm  ...... 

118 

18. 

Spathas  at  St.  Germain  .  

)) 

19- 

it 

20. 

ft 

"DT  A  Tl?  TTT 

21. 

Spears,  Shield  Bosses,  etc.,  at  St.  Germain  .... 

123 

22. 

23- 

»> 

24. 

>» 

PT  ATF  VTT 

25. 

128 

26. 

Shield  at  Copenhagen  ...... 

>f 

27. 

f  i 

2o. 

a 

PT  ATF  VTTT 

X  J_/x\,  J.  H/    V  1X1 

29. 

Penannular  Brooch,  Rochester  

134 

0  ' 

Annular  Brooches,  (above)  Liverpool,  (below)  Canterbury 

31. 

M 

32. 

Simplest  Forms  of  Buckles,  Liverpool  ..... 

i  > 

PT  Annr  tv 

33. 

Justinian,  from  the  Mosaic  at  Ravenna  

135 

34. 

Theodora,  from  the  Mosaic  at  Ravenna  ..... 

35. 

Roma,"  Carved  Ivory  at  Vienna  ...... 

Tinman  T^mnfrnr  Carved  Tvnrv  Vienna 

>  > 

PT  ATF  Y 

37. 

136 

38. 

Round  Brooch  from  Szilagy  Somlyo,  Hungary  .... 

*  1 

39. 

f> 

40. 

if 

xiv 

LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FIG.  FACING  PAGE 

PLATE  XI 

41.  Saucer"  and    Applied"  Brooches  from  Kempston,  Beds      .  137 

42.  Gold  Brooch  of  Viking  Period,  Copenhagen     .       .  . 

43.  Pewter  Brooch  in  Guildhall  Museum,  London  .       .       .  . 

44.  Bird  "  and  other  Fibulae  at  Boulogne  

PLATE  XII 

45.  Gothic  Eagle  Fibula  from  Ravenna  138 

46.  Fibulae  from  Szilagy  Somlyo  

47.  Fibula  with  Lion,  Buda-Pest   .  .  .       .       .       , , 

48.  Fibulae  from  Jouy  le  Comte,  at  St.  Germain     .       .       .       .  ,, 

PLATE  XIII 

49.  La  Tene  Fibula  at  Innsbruck  .       .       .       .       .       .  -139 

50.  Roman    Cross-bow  "  Fibula  at  Trieste    .       .       .       .       .  ,, 

51.  Sheet-Silver  Fibulae  from  Kerch,  at  Berlin       .       ,       .  . 

52.  Group  of  Roman  Fibulae  at  Mainz  , 

PLATE  XIV 

53.  Triple-coiled  Fibulae  from  Sackrau  ......  145 

54.  Back  View  of  Double-coiled  Fibula  from  Sackrau     .  .       , , 

55.  Runic  Fibula  from  Charnay  (Burgundian)  at  St.  Germain. 

56.  Back  of  Charnay  Fibula,  with  Runes,  at  St.  Germain      .       .  ,, 

PLATE  XV 

57.  Fibulae  from  Trento  146 

58.  Fibulae  from  Kiev,  Russia  .       .       .       .  . 

59.  Fibulae  from  Kiev    ...  ....... 

60.  Fibula  from  Kempston,  Beds  .       .       .       .       .       .  , , 

PLATE  XVI 

61.  Gothic  Buckle  at  Kiev  148 

62.  Gothic  Buckle  at  Odessa  .       .       .       .       .  .       .       , , 

63.  Large  Iron  Buckle  at  Fribourg        .       .       .       .       .  . 

64.  Bronze  Buckles  at  Boulogne     .       .  .        .       .       .  ,, 

XV 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FIG.  FACING  PAGE 

PLATE  XVII 

65.  Gold  Buckle  at  Stuttgart .... 

66.  Tongue  of  Strap,  Mainz  . 

67.  Gold  Cross  of  Lombard  character 

68.  Buckle  Tongues,  Altenburg,  Hungary 

PLATE  XVIII 

69.  Neck  Ring  in  Treasure  from  Sackrau,  Breslau  Museum  .  152 

70.  Neck  and  Arm  Rings  at  Stockholm  .       .       .       .  .       .  ,, 

71.  Finger  Ring  on  bone  of  finger  at  Fribourg       .       .  .  . 

72.  Mount  of  Pouch  from  Herpes,  France      .       .        .  .  . 

PLATE  XIX 

73.  Chatelaines  at  Worms      .       .  .       .  .  .       .  -153 

74.  Pierced  Disc  for  suspension,  Basel  .       .  .  .       .  .  ,, 

75.  Pierced  Disc  at  Bonn       .       .  .  .  .  .  ,. 

76.  Comb,  with  Case,  at  Brussels  .  .       .  .  .       .  .  ,, 

PLATE  XX 

77.  Crystal  Ball  found  in  the  grave  of  Childeric      .  .  .  1 54 

78.  Keys  in  Museum  of  Copenhagen,  Viking  Period  .  . 

79.  Flint  and  Steel  from  Lussy,  Fribourg      .  .  .  . 

80.  Iron  Spit,  Museum  at  Worms  .  .  .  . 

PLATE  XXI 

81.  Cinerary  Urn  from  Shropham,  Norfolk,  in  British  Museum      .  159 

82.  Jug  from  Herpes,  France  .       .  ...... 

83.  Pots  from  Charnay  (Taller)  and  Northern  France     .        .  . 

84.  Bronze  Vase  containing  Hazel  Nuts,  from  Kent,  in  British 

Museum    ..........  ,, 

PLATE  XXII 

85.  Bronze-mounted  Bucket  at  Rochester       .....  160 

86.  Glass  Vessel  from  the  Rhineland      .       .  .  .  ,, 

87.  Glass  Vessel  from  Kent   .       .       .       .       .       .       .  . 

88.  Viking  Stirrup  and  (Earlier)  Frankish  Single  Spur  . 

xvi 


151 

»» 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FIG.  FACING  PAGE 

PLATE  XXIII 

89.  Early  Bronze  Age  Spirals,  Copenhagen  .       .       .       .  .177 

90.  Inlaid  Gold  Armlet  from  Balkh,  in  the  British  Museum  .  ., 

91.  Eagle  in  Gold,  Inlaid,  from  the  Siberian  Treasure  in  the 

Hermitage,  St.  Petersburg        .       .  . 

92.  Greco-Scythian  Gold  Work  at  St.  Petersburg .       .  ,, 

PLATE  XXIV 

93.  Inlaid  Reliquary  found  in  a  Buddhist  Tope,  British  Museum    .  182 

94.  Gold  Brooch  in  Bibliotheque  Nationale,  Paris  . 

95.  Terminal  of  Iron  Mount  on  Lombard  Coffin,  Innsbruck  .  . 

96.  Damascened  Spear  Blade,  Burgundian  or  Frankish,  at  Fribourg 

PLATE  XXV 

97.  Roman  Inlaid  Dagger  Sheaths  at  Mainz  .        .       .        .  .187 

98.  Silver  Plating  and  detached  Pieces  of  Foil,  Museum  at  Namur 

99.  Inlaid  Iron  Buckle  at  Mainz  .  .       .       .       .       .       , , 

100.  Tin  Overlays  on  Pottery,  from  Swiss  Lake  DwelHngs,  at 

Lausanne  ............ 

PLATE  XXVI 

101.  Silver  Repousse  Work  over  ground  of  Iron,  Namur        .  192 

102.  Silver  Plate  of  Beaten  Work,  over  Iron,  Burgundian,  from 

Fetigny  ............ 

103.  Moulds  for  Sheet  Metal  Ornaments  from  Fonlak,  Hungary 

104.  Sheet  Metal  Ornaments  made  over  these        .       .       .  . 

PLATE  XXVII 

105.  Tinned  Bronze  Buckle  with  detached  Studs,  at  Brussels  .       .  193 

106.  Cast  Bronze  Buckle  at  Brussels,  back  view  showing  Technique 

of  Attachments  .       .  .  .       .       .       .       , . 

107.  Cast  Bronze  Buckle  Plate  with  Studs  at  Bonn        .        .  . 

108.  Fibula  from  the  Trentino,  with  Punched  Ornament  . 

PLATE  XXVIII 

109.  Coloured  Glass  Bead  Necklace  with  Pendants,  Munich  .  198 
no.  Inlaid  Pectoral  of  the  12th  Dynasty  of  Egypt,  Cairo  Museum  .  ,, 

xvii 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING  PAGE 

111.  Fibula  from   Peran   by  Villach,  showing   Champleve  and 

Cloisonne  Techniques        .       .       .       ,       .       .  .198 

112.  Cloisonne  Enamel  on  Fibula  from  Szilagy  Somlyo  in  Hungary, 

Fourth  or  Fifth  Century,  a.  D  , , 

PLATE  XXIX 

113.  Ornaments  from  Sackrau,  with  Granulated  Work,  etc.,  Breslau 

Museum    ..........  203 

114.  Frankish  Buckle  at  St.  Germain  Museum,  probably  Enamelled  ,, 

115.  Portions  of  Golden  Necklets  and   Mounted   Bracteates  at 

Stockholm  ........... 

116.  Gotland  Brooch  in  the  Collection  of  Mr.  James  Curie,  showing 

use  of  white  substance  , , 

PLATE  XXX 

117.  Bronze  Buckle,  with  Interlacing  Ornament,  Collection  of  the 

Academy,  Munich  208 

118.  Portion  of  Early  Germanic  Helmet  at  Vienna,  with  Repousse 

Ornament  showing  the  Vine  with  Birds      .       .       .       .  ,, 

119.  Objects  of  the  "  Keszthely  Group  "  at  Buda-Pest    .       .  . 

120.  Leopards  flanking  end  of  Buckle  Plate,  from  Samson,  Museum 

at  Namur  ............ 

PLATE  XXXI 

121.  Roman  Foliage  Scroll  with  Terminal  Heads  of  Beasts,  from 

Adamklissi,  at  Bucharest   .......  225 

122.  Roman  Buckle  from  the  Moselle  District,  in  the  Museum 

at  Bonn  ............ 

123.  Burgundian   Buckle   from    Crissier,  at   Lausanne,  showing 

mixture  of  Roman  and  Barbaric  Motives     .       .       .       .       , , 

124.  Gold  Bracteate  with  barbaric  treatment  of  the  human  form, 

at  Regensburg  ........... 

PLATE  XXXII 

125.  The  Thames  Shield,  Late-Celtic  Work,  British  Museum         .  230 

126.  Hellenistic  inlaid  ornament,  from  Platter  at  Buda-Pest    .  . 


xviii 


Arts  and  Crafts  of  our  Teutonic 
Forefathers 

CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTORY 

Limits  in  time  and  place  of  the  field  of  study.  Importance  of  his- 
torical and  geographical  considerations  as  underlying  the  artistic 
facts  of  the  period.  Some  of  the  chief  problems  that  offer  them- 
selves for  treatment. 

The  title  of  this  volume  covers  a  subject  that  is  both 
large  and  complex.  The  arts  and  crafts  of  our  Teu- 
tonic forefathers  furnish  the  matter  for  one  of  the 
two  great  chapters  in  the  general  history  of  the  arts 
in  western  Europe,  that  cover  the  time  between  the 
decline  of  classical  art  and  the  establishment  in  the 
eleventh  century  of  the  distinctive  medieval  style 
known  as  Romanesque.  The  other  great  chapter 
is  occupied  with  the  story  of  the  survival  of  later 
classical  forms  of  art  mainly  under  the  influence  of 

I 


INTRODUCTORY 


the  Church,  and  with  the  infiltration  into  the  West 
of  the  artistic  forms  of  the  Christianized  East,  at  first 
directly  from  Egypt  and  Syria,  and  at  a  later  time 
through  the  agency  of  Byzantium. 

These  two  contemporary  phases  of  aesthetic  acti- 
vity differ  markedly  in  that  the  art  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean regions  is  especially  strong  on  the  represen- 
tative side,  while  that  of  the  northern  peoples  is  in 
character  essentially  decorative.  The  two  traditions 
however  interpenetrate  at  many  points,  and  Roman 
or  Mediterranean  and  Teutonic  or  northern  art,  if 
they  must  be  regarded  as  independent,  have  yet  at 
the  same  time  close  relations  alike  in  matters  of 
form  and  of  technique. 

It  is  with  the  Teutonic  or  northern  art,  represent- 
ed in  these  islands  and  over  the  greater  part  of  the 
western  world,  thatthesechaptersare  concerned, and 
we  may  ask  at  the  outset,  What  is  the  general  char- 
acter of  this  art  and  of  the  objects  that  illustrate  it  ? 

Only  to  a  very  small  extent  is  this  art  of  a  monu- 
mental character,  and  only  very  few  of  the  objects 
that  illustrate  it  are  independent  works  like  the  stat- 
ues and  pictures  familiar  to  us  in  modern  times.  In 
the  main  these  objects  are  works  of  decorative  or 
industrial  art,  applied  largely  to  purposes  of  personal 
use  and  adornment.  They  are  arms,  or  parts  of  dress, 

2 


CLASSES  OF  OBJECTS 

or  ornaments,  or  belong  to  the  apparatus  of  useful 
or  pleasing  things  with  which  men  have  in  all  ages 
equipped  their  daily  life.   The  archaeologist  is  fam- 
iliar with  this  class  of  objects  under  the  heading  of 
**Tomb  Furniture" — a  category  under  which  can  be 
ranged  the  larger  number  of  the  small  ancient  works 
of  art  of  all  periods  that  fill  cases  in  our  museums. 
For  the  most  part  the  works  of  art  which  will  come 
before  us  have  actually  been  discovered  in  graves, 
where  they  had  been  placed,  according  to  the  almost 
universal  custom  of  non-Christian  races,  as  part  of 
the  possessions  of  the  deceased.  A  number  of  them 
however, and  these  among  the  rarestandmostcostly, 
were  originally  concealed  as  treasure  deposits  by 
those  who  expected  one  day  to  recover  them,  and 
these  have  come  to  light  accidentally  in  unexpected 
places.    Other  groups  of  portable  objects  have  ap- 
parently been  committed  to  the  earth  as  votive  offer- 
ings in  the  form  of  weapons  and  other  goods  taken 
from  defeated  foemen  ;  while  a  few  seem  to  have 
been  casually  lost, and  now  make  their  reappearance 
singly  in  sporadic  fashion.    Lastly,  one  or  two  port- 
able objects  representing  this  phase  of  art  have 
never  been  buriednorconcealed,  but,  like  the  Krems- 
mlinster  chalice  presently  to  be  noticed,  have  always 
been  in  evidence  and  in  honour. 

3 


INTRODUCTORY 


The  period  to  which  these  objects  belong  is  that 
of  the  Teutonic  migrations,  for  the  denizens  of  the 
tombs  that  have  yielded  them  up,  the  depositories 
of  the  treasure  hoardsor  votive  offerings,  the  owners 
of  the  accidentally  dropped  objects,  belonged  to  the 
Germanic  tribes  that  in  the  early  centuries  of  the 
Christian  era  made  themselves  masters  of  the  west- 
ern provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire. 

The  Teutons  came  into  view  in  this  period  not  in 
mere  armies,  light-handed,  and  equipped  only  for 
war,  but  as  communities,  accompanied  sometimes  by 
long  trains  of  waggons  laden  with  the  women  and 
children  and  the  household  impedimenta  of  innum- 
erable families.  It  is  a  question  not  of  invasions, 
but  of  the  movements  of  whole  races,  and  for  this 
reason  the  epoch  when  these  shiftings  of  population 
were  in  progress  is  called  the  period  of  the  Teutonic 
Migrations. 

The  regions  affected  by  these  movements  include 
the  whole  of  central,  southern  and  western  Europe, 
as  far  north  as  the  southern  portionsof  the  Scandina- 
vian peninsula,  and  as  far  east  as  a  line  drawn  from 
Riga  to  the  Caucasus,  while  North  Africa,  the  seat 
of  the  Vandal  kingdom,  must  also  be  included. 
Thechronological  limits  of  the  migrations  have  been 
variously  fixed.  When  these  are  drawn  at  their  nar- 

4 


LIMITS  IN  TIME 

rowest  they  include  the  period  between  about  370 
A.D.  and  the  end  of  the  eighth  century,  the  time  of 
Charles  the  Great.  The  first  date  is  that  at  which 
the  Huns  hurled  themselves  on  the  Teutonic  races 
dwelling  to  the  north  of  the  Black  Sea  with  a  shock 
that  was  transmitted  from  people  to  people  through 
the  whole  of  the  western  Empire  ;  w^hile  the  latter 
date  is  that  at  which  the  rule  of  Charles  the  Great 
had  re-established  in  the  dismembered  provinces 
of  that  Empire  something  that  resembled  the  old 
Roman  unity  and  order.  The  limits  of  time  may 
however  be  set  far  more  widely  apart.  The  pressure 
of  the  Huns  upon  the  Goths  in  the  fourth  century 
impelled  the  latter  westwards,  and  led  directly  or 
indirectly  to  the  defeat  of  the  Roman  legions  at 
Hadrianople  and  to  the  capture  of  Rome  by  Alaric. 
It  was  thus  the  opening  scene  of  the  great  tragic 
drama  of  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  of  the  west. 
What  was  however  the  cause  of  the  presence  in 
Southern  Russia  at  that  time  of  Teutonic  peoples  ? 
The  cause  is  to  be  found  in  earlier  movements  of 
these  peoples  from  the  north  of  Europe  towards  the 
south  and  east,  which  began  before  the  Christian  era. 
At  the  same  early  date  there  had  been  movements 
from  the  north  towards  the  south  and  west,  and  the 
then  unshaken  and  advancing  Roman  power  re- 

5 


INTRODUCTORY 


ceived  a  premonitory  shock  from  the  wandering 
Cimbri  and  Teutones.  All  this  earlier  Teutonic  his- 
tory comes  strictly  within  the  limits  of  our  epoch, 
but  we  need  not  take  special  account  of  it.  We  shall 
however  need  to  carry  our  minds  back  at  least  as  far 
as  the  time  when,  in  the  second  century  of  our  era, 
important  shiftings  of  population  were  in  progress 
beyond  the  Danube,  which  were  the  cause  of  the 
Marcomannic  war  of  defence  carried  on  in  that  re- 
gion by  Marcus  Aurelius  about  a.d.  170. 

With  regard  also  to  the  lower  limit  of  time,  the 
ordered  empire  administered  by  Charles  from 
Aachen,  which  on  Christmas  Day  in  the  year  800 
became  technically  Roman,  did  not  represent  the 
final  cessation  of  the  long-continued  Germanic  move- 
ments. Soon  afterwards  these  were  renewed  with 
fresh  vigour  in  the  form  of  the  Viking  inroads,  and 
the  last  waves  of  these  did  not  cease  to  beat  upon 
the  shores  of  England  and  of  Magna  Graecia  till 
the  eleventh  century  was  far  advanced.  In  relation 
especially  to  our  own  country  and  to  Scandinavia, 
the  post-Carolingian  or  Viking  period  of  the  Teu- 
tonic migrations  possesses  an  artistic  importance  of 
which  due  account  must  be  taken.  The  whole 
period  therefore  which  should  be  covered  in  our  sur- 
vey extends  to  some  twelve  hundred  years,  though 

6 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  HISTORY 


it  is  the  central  portion  of  the  period  only,  from 
Marcus  Aurelius  to  Charles  the  Great,  that  is  of 
special  importance. 

Some  explanation  may  perhaps  be  needed  of  the 
place  occupied  in  the  scheme  of  this  volume  by  his- 
torical considerations.  The  fact  is  that  the  connec- 
tion of  the  art  of  the  period  with  its  history  is  particu- 
larly close,  and  the  answer  to  many  of  the  sesthetical 
questions  which  must  come  before  us  in  our  survey 
depends  largely  on  our  reading  of  the  historical  phe- 
nomena which  the  epoch  presents.  And  if  archae- 
ology rests  on  history,  there  is  a  corresponding 
relation  which  must  not  be  ignored  between  his- 
tory and  archaeology.  Professed  historians,  though 
naturally  unwilling  to  extend  the  field  of  their  stud- 
ies, are  coming  to  recognize  the  results  of  modern 
antiquarian  research  as  data  that  cannot  be  neglect- 
ed ;  just  as  the  classical  philologist,  though  he  has 
sometimes  pleaded  to  be  let  alone  in  his  comfort- 
able study-chair  among  his  books,  has  now  to  watch 
the  spade  strokes  of  the  explorer,  and  reckon  with 
the  new  facts  that  are  being  revealed  from  beneath 
the  soil  of  classical  sites.  What  a  different  thing  Mr 
Casaubon's  Second  Excursus  upon  Crete  "  would 
now  become,  if  re-edited  by  Dr  Arthur  Evans,  from 
what  it  was  when  first  penned  by  the  orthodox  book- 

7 


INTRODUCTORY 


worm  who  married  the  heroine  of  Middlemarch ! 
On  this  side  of  the  matter  it  is  of  course  necessary 
to  proceed  with  a  caution  that  is  sometimes  forgot- 
ten by  the  ardent  archaeologist.  Dr  Sophus  Miiller 
has  issued  a  timely  warning  against  rearing  histori- 
cal superstructures  upon  a  very  slight  basis  of  arch- 
aeological fact,  but  the  service  that  the  antiquary, 
with  his  scientific  modern  methods,  can  now  render 
to  the  historian  is  a  very  real  one  ;  and  for  an  illus- 
tration we  have  only  to  note  the  effective  historical 
use  that  is  being  made  of  archaeology  in  the  Vic- 
toria History  of  the  Counties  of  England — a  mon- 
umental undertaking  which  one  would  like  to  see 
paralleled  in  the  other  British  areas. 

This  interdependence  of  history  and  archaeology 
concerns  us  most  on  the  side  on  which  it  was  first 
approached.  How  the  history  of  our  period  under- 
lies its  archaeology  may  be  seen  in  one  or  two  illus- 
trative cases. 

It  is  an  archaeological  fact  that  the  works  of  art 
with  which  we  are  concerned  have  survived  in  view 
or  have  come  to  light  in  innumerable  localities  over 
all  the  region  the  limits  of  which  have  been  already 
indicated,  and  that  they  present  on  the  whole  through- 
out all  that  vast  region  an  unmistakeable  family 
likeness.    That  is  to  say,  we  can  in  general  recog- 

8 


HISTORY  AND  ARCHAEOLOGY 

nize  them  at  a  glance  and  distinguish  them  from  ob- 
jects of  the  same  kind  that  are  of  Celtic  or  of  Roman 
origin,  or  that  represent  the  art  of  western  Europe 
in  its  later  or  Romanesque  phase.  There  are  at 
the  same  time  characteristic  differences  among  the 
variousgroups  into  which  the  objects  can  be  divided, 
and  these  groups  can  often  be  seen  to  possess  a 
local  character,  in  that  they  are  found  in  certain 
districts  but  not  in  others.  Now  the  general  like- 
ness can  be  explained  on  the  following  considera- 
tions. The  innumerablelocalities  mentionedabove 
are  all  in  regions  where  the  presence  of  Teutonic 
peoples  can  be  historically  attested,  and  the  general 
archaeological  character  of  the  objects  from  the  point 
of  view  of  the  comparative  method  suits  the  chron- 
ology of  the  German  migrations  and  settlements. 
Numerous  datable  coins,  generally  of  the  early  By- 
zantine Emperors,  have  been  found  with  the  objects. 
On  a  sufficient  number  of  characteristic  pieces 
there  have  been  deciphered  inscriptions  in  the 
Runic  character,  a  method  of  writing  peculiar  to 
the  Teutonic  peoples,  and  these,  together  with 
similar  inscriptions  in  Latin,  contain  Teutonic  pro- 
per names  and  words  in  the  Teutonic  tongue. 
The  character  of  many  of  the  objects  corresponds 
with  notices  in  the  literature  of  the  period  applying 

9 


INTRODUCTORY 


to  the  Germanic  invaders  of  the  Empire.  On  these 
and  other  grounds  we  may  treat  these  general  re- 
semblances as  constituting  for  the  objects  a  com- 
mon Germanic  character. 

If  this  be  accepted,  the  further  question  arises  : 
Do  the  local  and  otherdifferencesamong  the  various 
groups  of  objects  correspond  to  differences  among 
the  divers  peoples  into  which  the  Germanic  race  is 
divided  ?  We  know  from  literary  records  that  these 
peoples  varied  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  in  their 
character,  traditions  and  tastes,  and  may  assume  that 
this  would  be  the  case  also  with  their  methods  of 
craftsmanship,  so  that  objects  made  and  worn  by  the 
Goths  might  differ  from  those  made  and  worn  by  the 
Franks  or  the  Lombards.  Hence  when  local  differ- 
ences are  observed  in  objects  that  are  on  the  whole  of 
the  same  character  we  have  to  ask  ourselves.  What 
peoples  inhabited  or  passed  through  the  regions  in 
which  the  differences  come  into  view  ?  If  objects  of 
a  certain  class  found  in  two  or  in  three  distinct  local- 
ities agree  in  special  characteristics,  and  we  find  that 
one  particular  people  was  connected  with  these  self- 
same localities,  there  is  at  once  a  presumption  that 
this  particular  people  was  responsible  for  the  objects 
in  question.  By  instituting  processes  of  comparison 
resulting  in  hypotheses  of  this  kind,  and  by  carefully 

lO 


COMMON  GERMANIC  CHARACTER 


testing  the  presumptions  thus  formed,  it  may  be  pos- 
sible to  assign  many  of  the  numerous  sub-classes  of 
these  objects  to  the  respective  branches  of  the  Teu- 
tonic race,  but  this  can  only  be  attempted  on  a  basis 
of  knowledge  of  the  movements,  and  places  and 
periods  of  settlement,  of  the  peoples  in  question. 
We  possess  in  the  reports  of  the  exploration  of  ceme- 
teries, when  these  have  been  properly  conducted, 
accurate  local  knowledge  about  the  objects,  and  have 
to  confront  this  with  information  of  a  historical  kind 
about  the  peoples  who  had  associations  with  the  lo- 
calities, and  presumably  made  and  used  the  objects 
that  come  to  light  in  the  sepulchres. 

A  knowledge  of  the  course  and  the  chronology  of 
the  migrations  is  accordingly  essential  to  a  proper 
understanding  of  the  discoveries,  and  we  must  re- 
gard these  movements,  not  as  mere  historical  and 
geographical  facts  of  general  interest,  but  as  matters 
of  fundamental  importance  for  our  study. 

There  are  other  and  wider  questions  in  the 
archaeology  of  the  period  that  can  only  be  discussed 
on  a  basis  of  history  and  geography.  One  is  sug- 
gested by  the  expression  just  used,  *'a  common 
Germanic  character,"  which  we  have  seen  good 
grounds  for  ascribing  to  the  general  mass  of  objects 
with  which  we  shall  have  to  deal.    This  is  accepted 

II 


INTRODUCTORY 


by  most  of  those  who  have  been  working  in  this 
field  within  the  modern  archaeological  era.  The 
older  antiquaries,  it  is  true,  did  not  all  adopt  this 
view,  for  in  the  eighteenth  century  Bryan  Faussett 
ascribed  the  contents  of  the  richly  furnished  Saxon 
or  rather  Jutish  tumuli  at  Kingston  Down  in  Kent 
to  the  Romanized  Britons.  Douglas  however,  whose 
Nenia  Britannica  appeared  in  1793,  recognized 
these  and  similar  finds  as  Teutonic,  and  this  view, 
enforced  by  antiquaries  such  as  Akerman  and 
Roach  Smith,  has  among  ourselves  ever  since  pre- 
vailed. In  Germany  the  national  uprising  against 
Napoleon  resulted  in  a  tendency  to  claim  all  the 
antiquities  of  the  Fatherland  as  in  their  origin  Ger- 
manic, but  both  in  Germany  and  in  France  a  theory 
that  everything  must  be  regarded  as  Celtic  for  a 
long  time  stood  in  the  way  of  the  now  prevailing 
view.  Since  the  time  of  Lindenschmit  in  the  former 
country  and  of  the  Abbe  Cochet  in  the  latter,  the 
Germanic  origin  of  the  graves  where  these  objects 
have  been  found,  and  with  certain  reservations  of 
the  objects  themselves,  has  remained  unquestioned. 
The  word  Germanic,''  however,  when  applied  to 
the  works  of  art  under  review,  is  susceptible  of 
different  interpretations. 

Everyone  will  agree  now  that  it  implies  some- 

12 


THE  QUESTION  OF  ORIGIN 


thing  distinctive  in  character,  something  that  at  any 
rate  is  not  Celtic  nor  Etruscan  nor  Neo- Persian,  nor 
in  accordance  with  any  other  of  the  recognized  styles 
prevailing  at  about  that  period  of  the  world's  his- 
tory. Most  would  admit  that  this  Germanic'* 
style  suited  the  special  taste  in  matters  decorative 
which  was  indigenous  in  the  Teutonic  disposition, 
but  a  large  number  would  hesitate  to  affirm  that 
German  initiative  created  the  style,  or  that  German 
hands  executed  the  works  in  which  that  style  found 
expression.  Many  of  the  first  authorities,  including 
Lindenschmit  and  Otto  Tischler  among  the  older, 
and  Director  von  Falke  among  the  more  recent  in- 
vestigators, have  held  that  the  work  is  really  pro- 
vincial-Roman and  not  in  its  essence  Teutonic,  or 
that  at  any  rate  Rome  counts  for  far  more  in  it  than 
the  North. 

There  areotherequally competent  observers  who, 
like  Almgren  in  his  classic  work  on  the  northern 
fibulae,  prefer  to  believe  that  in  most  cases  both  style 
and  technique,  though  influenced  from  the  side  of 
Rome,  are  really  Germanic,  and  that  as  a  general 
rule  the  various  objects  were  made  in  the  localities 
where  they  have  been  found  and  by  the  countrymen 
of  the  original  Teutonic  possessors,  if  not  by  these 
possessors  themselves. 

13 


INTRODUCTORY 


It  may  be  said  at  the  outset  that  the  view  just  in- 
dicated is  the  one  which  the  writer  s  study  of  the 
subject  has  commended  to  his  mind.  In  the  main 
the  style  of  the  objects  is  Teutonic  and  not  classical, 
and  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases  the  objects  found  in 
the  several  localities  are  of  local  fabrication.  Proofs 
of  these  statements  will  be  given  as  the  book  ad- 
vances. It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  quite  recently, 
in  1909,  there  appeared  in  Germany  a  work  by  Dr 
Albrecht  Haupt,  entitled  The  Oldest  Art,  especially 
the  Architecture,  of  the  Germans^  in  which  the  claim 
to  a  national  origin  for  the  art  with  which  we  are 
here  concerned  is  urged  in  the  most  insistent  fashion. 

The  first  question  therefore,  which  has  to  be  an- 
swered, is  whether  the  work  is  in  its  essence  Roman 
or  Germanic,  and,  if  the  latter  be  held  established, 
the  next  is  the  distribution  of  the  objects,  with  their 
varyingcharacteristics,amongthedifferent  Teutonic 
peoples.  To  fix  the  provenance  of  these  objects  is 
in  many  cases  to  solve  the  problem  of  their  date,  and 
a  few  dates  thus  established  may  be  of  essential  value 
in  their  bearing  on  the  general  chronology  of  the  ar- 
tistic forms  of  the  period. 


CHAPTER  II 


THE  ARTISTIC  OUTPUT  OF  THE  PERIOD 

Preliminary  survey  of  artistic  material.  Architectural  and  sculptured 
monuments.  Paintings,  illuminated  manuscripts,  mosaics.  The 
Church  and  Teutonic  art.  The  Carolingian  Renaissance. 

Review  of  some  of  the  characteristic  products  of  Teutonic  art  and 
ornamentation,  with  indications  of  date  and  provenance. 

It  is  proposed  to  occupy  the  present  chapter  with 
a  preliminary  survey  of  the  artistic  material  with 
which  the  student  of  the  crafts  of  our  Teutonic  fore- 
fathers isbrought  into  contact.  Illustrations,  accom- 
panied by  a  few  words  of  description,  of  some  typical 
objects  of  the  different  classes  represented  in  the 
period  will  give  a  general  idea  of  the  character  of 
this  material,  that  may  form  the  basis  of  subsequent 
analysis  and  discussion.  What  follows  is  in  some 
measure  an  enlargement  of  the  preliminary  remarks 
as  to  the  character  of  Teutonic  art  which  found  their 
place  at  the  opening  of  the  first  chapter. 

An  indication  was  there  given  of  these  different 

15 


THE  ARTISTIC  OUTPUT 

classes  of  objects  and  of  the  ways  in  which  they  have 
come  down  to  us.  There  are  architectural  and 
sculptured  monuments  in  some  numbers  that  date 
from  the  period.  The  Ostrogoths,  the  Visigoths, 
the  Merovingian  Franks,  the  Anglo-Saxons,  the 
Lombards,  have  all  left  permanent  memorials  in 
stone  in  those  parts  of  the  Roman  Empire  which, 
for  a  time  or  lastingly,  they  made  their  own.  By  far 
the  most  important  of  these  is  the  world-famous 
tomb  of  the  Ostrogoth  Theodoric  at  Ravenna,  a 
structure  which  is  Roman  in  form  but  which  shows 
in  detail  some  curiously  non-classical  motives,  in 
which  some  have  detected  the  workings  of  Teutonic 
phantasy.  In  Spain  there  exist  some  half-dozen 
churches  claimed  to  be  of  the  Visigothic  era,  which 
have  some  interesting  characteristics.  The  early 
Lombard  buildings,  such  as  that  at  Cividale  in  the 
north-eastern  corner  of  the  Italian  kingdom,  are  in 
architectural  character  more  Roman  than  the  last, 
but  exhibit  carved  detail  of  the  character  of  the 
migration  period.  In  our  own  country  and  in 
northern  France  there  are  pre-Carolingian  stone 
churches,  while  Great  Britain  can  boast  the  pos- 
session of  a  really  unique  treasure  in  the  multitude 
of  carved  crosses  and  other  sculptured  stones  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  period  to  which  no  other  part  of 

i6 


SCULPTURE  AND  PAINTING 


Europe  can  present  a  parallel.  On  the  other  hand 
ornamented  sarcophagi,  either  carved  in  stone  or  else 
moulded  in  plaster,  are  a  speciality  of  Merovingian 
Gaul,  and  the  Rhineland  has  produced  a  few  Teu- 
tonic tombstones,  together  with  many  Roman  ones 
which  have  the  interest  for  our  purpose  that  they 
sometimes  contain  contemporary  representations  of 
militant  or  captive  Germans. 

With  regard  to  monuments  of  the  art  of  painting, 
what  survives  is  chiefly  of  an  ecclesiastical  character. 
Wall  paintings  of  a  secular  kind,  that  to  judge  from 
literary  notices  would  have  possessed  for  us  great 
historical  interest,  once  existed  though  they  have 
now  perished.    Thus  we  learn  that  at  Monza  in 
North  Italy,  about  the  year  600  a.d..  Queen  Theu- 
delinda  built  a  palace  for  herself,  in  which  she  caused 
some  representations  to  be  made  of  the  deeds  of  the 
Lombards.    The  chief  extant  monuments  of  paint- 
ing however,  that  exhibit  Teutonic  character,  are 
certain  illuminated  manuscripts  which  are  of  course 
of  ecclesiastical  origin,  and  with  these  may  be  men- 
tioned one  grand  cycle  of  monumental  pictures  in 
mosaic  that  remains  from  Ostrogothic  times  in  S. 
Apollinare  Nuovo  at  Ravenna.    The  fact,  that  in 
these  ecclesiastical  works  there  is  a  Teutonic  ele- 
ment, brings  up  the  question  of  the  relation  of  the 

17  2 


THE  ARTISTIC  OUTPUT 


Church  to  Germanic  art,  on  which  a  word  may  fit- 
tingly be  said. 

The  Church,  in  her  different  sections,  and  in  both 
antique  and  modern  days,  has  sometimes  been  re- 
proached for  putting  under  taboo  picturesque  old 
customs,  folk-lore,  popular  songs,  vernacular  speech, 
and  generally  all  relics  of  the  time  when  she  herself 
was  not.  Certainly  we  know  that  the  typical  Teu- 
ton, Charles  the  Great,  wrote  down  and  committed 
to  memory  the  ancient  songs  of  his  heroic  forefathers, 
while  his  son  Louis,  who  was  half  a  monk,  would 
not  hear  nor  read  nor  remember"  the  gentile 
ditties that  he  had  been  taught  when  a  boy.  These 
accordingly  died  out  of  remembrance,  just  as  the 
Book  of  Jasher  perished  under  the  post-exilic  eccle- 
siocracy  at  Jerusalem.  The  Church  has  in  general 
however  rendered  such  magnificent  service  to  the 
arts  that  it  is  worth  while  inquiring  whether  in  this 
particular  age  the  reproach  referred  to  was  justified. 

Theinfluence  of  the  Church,  especially  the  Roman 
or  Catholic  section  of  it  as  opposed  to  the  Arian, 
was  naturally  exercised  in  favour  of  the  classical 
forms  of  art  which  had  one  of  their  homes  in  Italy, 
the  stronghold  of  Roman  Christianity.  It  has  been 
noticed  of  Early  Christian  art  in  Gaul  that  it  quite 
ignored  the  traditions  of  the  beautiful  Late-Celtic 

i8 


THE  CHURCH  AND  ART 

decorative  art,  and  used  for  its  sarcophagi  and  other 
objects  only  a  debased  form  of  the  late  classical 
figure  motives  and  foliage.  In  the  Teutonic  period 
vernacular  art  had  more  resisting  power.  It  is  true 
that  we  meet  occasionally  with  pieces  of  traditional 
Early  Christian  art  of  a  classical  kind  rendered  in 
a  fairly  orthodox  fashion  by  theGermaniccraftsman, 
but  in  the  vast  majority  of  instances  the  classical 
motive  has  been  Teutonized  almost  out  of  recogni- 
tion. For  example,  the  Burgundians-  had  a  passion 
for  wearing  buckles  on  which  was  represented  the 
traditional  group  so  common  on  Early  Christian  sar- 
cophagi, of  Daniel  between  the  two  lions.  We  some- 
times find  this  treated  in  quite  orthodox  guise,  but 
the  examples  are  far  more  numerous  in  which  the 
figures  are  transformed  into  the  most  curious  decora- 
tive shapes,  in  which  barbaric  fancy  has  had  the 
freest  play.  Taking  the  two  examples  shown  in 
fig.  I,  in  the  lower  the  subject  is  quite  recognizable, 
even  without  the  legible  inscription,  with  the  names 
Daniel  and  Abbacuc,  but  the  upper  one  is  quite  bar- 
baric. There  is  another  very  striking  instance  in  an 
elaborate  golden  clasp  at  Buda-Pest,  that  brings  the 
Christian  sign  of  the  cross  to  view  in  every  part,  but 
combines  this  with  the  crudest  attempts  at  figure 
work  in  the  form  of  human  heads, 

19 


THE  ARTISTIC  OUTPUT 

The  truth  is  that,  just  as  the  Church,  as  we  shall 
see,  only  succeeded  very  gradually  in  changing  the 
use  of  the  heathen  cemeteries  and  of  tomb  furniture, 
so  she  exercised  among  the  Germans  far  less  influ- 
ence than  would  have  been  expected  in  favour  of 
the  classical  motives  in  art  as  against  the  native. 
The  Tassilo  Cup  is  almost  entirely  Germanic  in  its 
enrichment,  and  the  figure  work  is  hopelessly  feeble. 
The  most  striking  instance  of  what  is  here  said  is 
to  be  found  in  our  own  country,  in  the  famous  il- 
luminated manuscript  known  as  the  "  Gospels  of 
Lindisfarne. This  we  know  to  have  been  executed 
at  the  beginning  of  the  eighth  century  at  Lindis- 
farne itself,  at  a  time  when  the  establishment  had 
been  entirely  Romanized,  yet  in  the  ornamentation 
of  this  wonderful  piece  the  native  elements,  whether 
Celtic  or  Teutonic,  are  developed  with  the  fullest 
freedom  and  abundance,  and  there  is  very  little  that 
reminds  us  of  the  synod  of  Whitby  or  of  Wilfrid's 
Romanizing  endeavours.  On  our  carved  crosses 
and  slabs  native  enrichment  is  everywhere  in  evi- 
dence ;  but  it  is  combined  on  many  of  our  finest 
examples  with  some  remarkably  good  figure  work, 
and  with  the  vine  ornament,  generally  enhanced  by 
the  addition  of  birds.  The  portion  of  the  Ruthwell 
Cross  shown  in  fig.  2  illustrates  both  of  these.  The 

20 


ECCLESIASTICAL  OBJECTS 


tendency  of  the  moment,  especially  in  the  school  of 
Strzygowski,  is  to  regard  these  motives  as  importa- 
tions rather  from  the  East  than  from  Italy,  coming 
perhaps  in  the  form  of  Syrian  or  Alexandrian  carved 
ivories.  The  figures  and  motives  present  at  any 
rate  very  interesting  problems  for  the  investigator. 

The  further  development  of  this  Teutonic  art  was, 
in  France  and  Central  Europe  generally,  checked 
by  the  so-called  Carolingian  Renaissance.  This 
classical  revival  however  was  not  an  ecclesiastical 
movement  so  much  as  one  in  the  domains  of  culture 
and  of  politics,  and  the  Church,  though  lending  it  all 
her  aid,  was  not  directly  responsible  for  it.  After 
this  time,  though  elements  of  the  native  traditions 
survived  in  Carolingian  and  Ottonian  art,  the  forms 
used  were  mostly  of  classical  origin,  and  it  was  only 
amongthe  pagan  Scandinavians  of  the  Viking  period 
that  the  Teutonic  fashions  preserved  their  true  vi- 
tality. 

Returning  from  this  brief  digression  on  the  in- 
fluenceof  the  Church  upon  Teutonic  art,  we  will  take 
up  the  main  theme  of  this  chapter,  and  pass  in  re- 
view some  of  the  characteristic  products  in  which 
this  art  was  displayed. 

Among  these  typical  objects  the  first  place  may 
be  taken  by  one  or  two  ecclesiastical  works  of  art 

21 


THE  ARTISTIC  OUTPUT 


made  for  and  gifted  to  religious  bodies,  that  have 
been  in  the  possession  of  the  objects  ever  since.  In 
some  ways  the  most  interesting  of  these  pieces  is  the 
famous  Tassilo  Cup  already  mentioned  (fig.  I,  fron- 
tispiece). This  is  one  of  a  very  few  pre-  Romanesque 
chalices  that  has  come  down  to  us,  and  bears  on  its 
foot  an  inscription  that  denotes  it  to  be  the  posses- 
sion or  the  gift  of  Duke  Tassilo  of  Bavaria,  who 
played  his  part  in  the  history  of  the  latter  part  of  the 
eighth  century.  He  presented  the  cup  to  the  monas- 
tery of  his  own  foundation  at  Kremsmiinster  in 
Upper  Austria.  There  it  has  remained  to  this  day, 
in  the  monastic  buildings  which  are  now  turned  to 
useful  educational  and  scientific  purposes,  and  both 
on  historical  and  on  artistic  grounds  it  is  one  of  the 
most  attractive  works  of  the  kind  in  Europe. 

An  earlier  piece  of  ecclesiastical  metal  work  of 
Germanic  origin  is  preserved  at  Monza,  where  in  the 
treasury  of  the  church  are  to  be  seen  the  two  jewelled 
book-covers  on  which  is  an  inscription  stating  that 
they  were  part  of  an  offering  of  the  Lombard  queen 
Theudelinda  to  the  basilica  that  she  founded  at  that 
place  in  the  year  595. 

Another  object  that  has  always  been  in  evidence 
is  the  reliquary  at  St.  Maurice  in  the  Valais,  in 
Switzerland  (fig.  3 ).    1 1  is  decorated  in  the  Germanic 

22 


TREASURE  OF  PETROSSA 


fashion,  and  has  on  its  back  an  inscription  in  which 
several  Teutonic-sounding  names  occur,  including 
those  of  the  two  craftsmen,  Undiho  and  Ello,  who 
made  it. 

The  Tassilo  Cup,  which  is  of  copper,  heavily- 
gilded,  and  adorned  with  oval  plates  of  silver  on 
which  in  niello  work  are  the  busts  of  saints,  is  for 
the  present  purpose  chiefly  noteworthy  for  the  orna- 
mentation, incised  by  the  chisel,  in  a  convoluted 
pattern  representing  highly  conventionalized  animal 
forms.  It  is  a  somewhat  late  example  of  the  char- 
acteristic German  zoomorphic  enrichment.  The 
other  two  pieces  are  examples  of  the  process  of  in- 
laying coloured  stones  orother  objects  in  gold,  which 
is  a  speciality  of  the  Teutonic  craftsmanship  of  the 
period. 

Under  the  next  heading,  that  of  treasures  buried 
for  safety,  may  be  adduced  in  the  first  place  a  col- 
lection of  objects  larger  and  more  splendid  than  any 
which  the  period  has  produced.  The  reference  is 
to  the  famous  Treasure  of  Petrossa,  now  preserved 
in  the  Museum  of  the  University  at  Bucharest. 
This  was  not  found  in  a  tomb,  but  is  a  treasure  de- 
posit which  came  to  light  in  1837,  quite  accident- 
ally, near  a  village  in  Rumania  on  the  eastern  slope 
of  the  Transylvanian  Alps.    More  than  a  dozen 

23 


THE  ARTISTIC  OUTPUT 

pieces,  all  of  gold  and  for  the  most  part  encrusted 
with  semi-precious  stones,  survive  from  the  trea- 
sure, though  some  pieces  that  originally  belonged 
to  it  have  disappeared.  It  consists  in  golden  dishes 
and  ewers,  fibulae  and  other  objects  of  personal 
adornment,  such  as  the  fibula  shown  in  fig.  II, 
frontispiece,  and  some  wonderful  baskets  of  open 
work  in  gold,  the  spaces  being  filled  in  with  coloured 
stones  or  pastes  (fig.  4).  It  was  discovered  by 
accident  by  some  peasants  who  thought  the  metal 
was  copper,  and  was  purchased  from  them  for  a 
trifling  sum  by  a  Greek  workman  who  only  just 
knew  enough  to  be  aware  that  the  objects  were 
probably  of  gold.  He  immediately  smashed  up  or 
cut  in  pieces  the  larger  objects  for  convenience  of 
transport,  and  in  so  doing  scattered  in  all  directions 
the  garnets,  turquoises,  and  other  stones,  that  were 
thickly  set  in  the  gold.  These  coloured  baubles 
were  picked  up  by  the  village  children,  and  the  fact 
that  they  had  handfuls  of  these  toys  to  play  with 
came  to  the  ears  of  a  representative  of  the  authori- 
ties, and  led  to  the  recovery,  though  in  a  sadly 
mutilated  condition,  of  the  majority  of  the  objects 
forming  the  original  collection.  The  crushed  pieces 
were  restored  as  far  as  possible  to  their  original 
shape  and  the  fragments  put  together,  but  fortune 

24 


NAGY  SZENT  MIKLOS 


had  still  in  store  further  evils,  for  the  treasure  was 
twice  stolen  from  the  places  where  it  was  exhibited 
and  the  process  of  crushing-up  and  cutting  in  pieces 
was  repeated  with  disastrous  effect.  When  perfect 
it  must  have  been  a  glorious  treasure,  by  far  the 
finest  collection  of  the  kind  that  had  survived  to 
modern  times,  and  even  in  its  present  condition  it 
offers  to  us  objects  of  surpassing  interest. 

The  date  and  original  ownership  of  the  Treasure 
of  Petrossa  cannot  be  fixed  with  absolute  certainty, 
but  it  is  reasonably  safe  to  ascribe  it  to  the  third  or 
fourth  century  a.d.  and  to  connect  it  with  the  Visi- 
gothic  people.  On  one  of  the  objects,  a  golden 
circlet  for  the  neck  (see  postea,  p.  76),  occurs  a 
dedicatory  inscription  in  Runic  characters,  in  a 
Germanic  tongue,  and  probably  of  pagan  import. 
The  reading  of  the  inscription  is  not  quite  certain 
but  the  name  of  the  Goths  is  to  be  found  in  it,  and 
the  suggestion  of  Gothic  ownership,  though  not 
necessarily  of  Gothic  origin,  is  borne  out  by  the 
place  of  discovery,  and  by  the  apparent  date  of  the 
pieces  as  judged  on  general  antiquarian  grounds. 

Another  great  treasure  of  golden  vessels,  com- 
parable with  that  of  Petrossa,  was  found  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Transylvanian  Alps  in  Hungary,  and 
may  here  be  mentioned,  though  there  is  nothing 

25 


THE  ARTISTIC  OUTPUT 


available  but  conjecture  for  fixing  its  date.  The 
reference  is  to  the  gold  find  at  Nagy  Szent  Miklos, 
near  the  river  Maros  in  eastern  Hungary,  where  in 
1 799  twenty-three  vessels  of  gold  were  accidentally 
discovered.  They  are  now  in  almost  perfect  pre- 
servation in  the  Kunst-Historisches  Museum  at  Vi- 
enna, and  show  the  same  mixture  of  late-classical, 
oriental,  and  barbarian  elements  to  be  observed  in 
the  treasure  of  Petrossa,  but  in  this  case  there  are 
some  pieces  with  distinct  Christian  indications. 
There  are  half-a-dozen  jugs,  seven  or  eight  bowls 
and  some  shallower  vessels,  all  of  beaten  gold  with 
enrichments  in  repousse  work  and  in  some  cases  in 
enamel  (fig.  HI,  frontispiece).  Puzzling  inscriptions 
appear  on  some.  The  treasure  is  now  dated  about 
the  eighth  century,  and  hence  much  later  than  the 
treasure  from  Petrossa.  Its  affinities  in  point  of  art 
are  undoubtedly  Sasanian,  but  the  inscriptions  are 
partly  in  barbarous  Greek  and  partly  quite  enig- 
matical, and  date  and  place  of  origin  are  alike  un- 
certain. 

The  Museum  at  Vienna  holds  another  treasure 
of  golden  objects,  of  which  the  date,  if  not  the  pro- 
venance, is  fairly  well  established.  It  was  found  at 
a  place  called  Szilagy  Somlyo  near  Grosswardein 
in  Hungary,  in  the  year  1797,        consists  for  the 

26 


SZILAGY  SOMLYO 

most  part  in  a  class  of  objects  of  great  significance 
for  the  study  of  the  subject  before  us.  These  objects 
are  Roman  medallions  inscribed  and  therefore  dat- 
able. Roman,  Byzantine,  and  other  coins  are  of 
frequent  occurrence  in  Teutonic  graves  and  treasure 
deposits,  and  a  word  may  be  said  here  as  to  their 
chronological  significance.  It  is  obvious  that  when 
the  coin  of  a  certain  potentate  forms  an  integral  part 
of  a  group  of  objects  recovered  from  the  earth  the 
deposit  cannot  have  been  made  earlier  than  the  ac- 
cession of  that  ruler,  but  on  the  other  hand  the  coin 
is  of  little  value  intrinsically  as  a  mark  of  date  in  the 
other  direction.  It  may  have  been  in  existence  for 
centuries  before  it  was  buried  with  the  rest  of  the 
objects  in  the  tomb  or  cache.  Under  certain  con- 
ditions however  it  may  acquire  value  of  thiskind.  For 
example,  if  a  considerable  number  of  coins  of  success- 
ive issues  belonging  to  a  particular  period  are  found 
together,  and  no  examples  of  a  later  date,  there  is  a 
presumption  that  the  deposit  approximates  to  the 
time  of  the  latest  of  these  issues.  If  the  coins  have 
the  appearance  of  freshness,  this  presumption  is 
strengthened.  Now  in  the  case  of  the  Szilagy 
Somlyo  deposit  the  pieces  are  not  coins  in  the  strict 
sense  but  medallions  in  gold  of  a  large  size  bearing 
the  portraits  of  Roman  Emperors  of  the  fourth  cen- 

27 


THE  ARTISTIC  OUTPUT 


tury,  from  Maximian  who  died  in  304  a.d.  to 
Gratian  who  assumed  the  purple  in  367.  The  whole 
number  of  medallions  is  twenty-four  and  some  are  as 
much  as  three  and  three-quarters  inches  indiameter. 
They  are  undoubtedly  gifts  presented  by  the  Em- 
perors to  their  Germanic  neighbours  across  the 
Danube,  and  it  is  equally  certain  that  they  have 
been  mounted  by  barbarian  goldsmiths.  This  is 
proved  by  the  fact  that  in  some  cases  the  barbarian 
goldsmith  has  in  mounting  the  piece  mutilated  the 
representation  of  the  head  of  the  Emperor,  in  a  way 
quite  impossible  in  a  Roman  craftsman  (fig.  5 ).  The 
date  of  the  deposit  may  fairly  be  fixed  by  these  medal- 
lions at  the  latter  part  of  the  fourth  century  a.d.,  and 
as  the  deposit  contained  other  objects  of  much  art- 
istic importance  this  indication  of  date  is  a  matter 
of  some  moment. 

A  second  find  of  buried  treasure  by  an  extraordi- 
nary coincidence  came  to  light  close  to  the  same 
spot,  about  100  years  later,  in  1 889,  and  this  consists 
for  the  most  part  in  personal  ornaments  of  a  very 
sumptuous  kind  together  with  certain  golden  bowls. 
These  objects  probably  date  from  about  the  same 
period.  They  are  in  the  Museum  at  Buda-Pest. 
Fig.  6  shows  a  group  of  golden  and  silver  gilt 
fibulae. 

28 


GUARRAZAR  CROWNS 

The  heading  votive  deposits comes  next.  Of 
votive  objects  belonging  to  the  period,  the  finest  are 
the  votive  crowns  that  were  discovered  at  a  place 
called  Guarrazar  near  Toledo  in  Spain,  in  1858,  in 
the  tomb  of  a  priest.  They  had  most  probably  been 
taken  from  a  church  in  which  they  werehanging  and 
hidden  away  on  the  occasion  of  the  Arab  invasion 
in  711  A.D.  There  were  about  a  dozen  crowns  in 
all  and  w^ith  them  various  crosses.  All  are  of  gold 
and  are  set  for  the  most  part  with  large  sapphires 
and.  pearls,  and  small  garnets  or  discs  of  ruby  glass, 
and  have  chains  for  suspension  before  the  altar  of  a 
church,  and  pendent  crosses  below.  Votive  crowns 
of  the  kind  were  common  objects  in  the  greater 
churches,  and  an  Arab  historian  of  the  twelfth 
century  mentions  that  in  his  time  there  were  to  be 
seen  in  the  cathedral  of  Toledo  twenty-five  golden 
crowns,  each  one  offered  up  by  one  of  the  Gothic 
Kings  of  Spain.  The  crowns  from  Guarrazar  were 
different  from  those  here  referred  to,  but  two  at  any 
rate  were  royal  offerings,  for  hanging  from  the 
bottom  edge  of  the  circlets  are  jewelled  letters 
which  spell  the  names  of  two  Visigothic  kings  of  the 
seventh  century — Svinthila  (621-631)  and  Recces- 
vinthus  (649-672).  The  former  is  at  Madrid,  the 
latter  with  seven  other  crowns  in  the  Musee  Cluny 

29 


THE  ARTISTIC  OUTPUT 


at  Paris.  Apart  from  their  intrinsic  splendour  the 
crowns,  as  datable  objects  of  Visigothic  origin,  are 
among  the  most  important  monuments  of  the  per- 
iod.   The  Mus^e  Cluny  set  is  shown  in  fig.  7. 

Votive  deposits  of  quite  another  kind,  pagan  and 
military  rather  than  Christian  and  ecclesiastical,  are 
the  hoards  of  miscellaneous  objects,  largely  of  arms, 
that  have  come  to  light  in  some  of  the  peat  mosses 
of  Funen  in  Denmark  and  Schleswig.  They  are  of 
comparatively  early  date,  the  fourth  or  fifth  century, 
and  of  great  archaeological  value. 

The  most  important  heading  of  all  is  that  of  tomb 
furniture.  Among  objects  found  in  interments  only 
two  that  have  special  features  of  interest  need  here 
be  noticed,  as  the  whole  subject  of  the  furniture  of 
the  graves  will  be  treated  in  connection  with  the 
Teutonic  cemetery  in  general  in  a  coming  chapter. 

The  first  is  a  group  of  objects  that  is  datable  with 
certainty,  and  as  it  belonged  to  a  historical  person- 
age, it  is  a  valuable  document  for  our  present  study. 
The  reference  is  to  the  objects  discovered  in  the 
tomb  of  the  Prankish  chieftain  Childeric,  the  father 
of  Clovis,  that  was  accidentally  opened  at  Tournay 
in  Belgium  in  the  year  1653.  The  various  objects 
that  then  came  to  light  were  shovelled  out  in  very 
unscientific  fashion  and  ultimately  passed  into  the 

30 


PLATE  II 


5.  MEDALLION  OF  VALENS  MOUNTED  BY  A  6.  FIBUL.4i,  ETC.,   FROM  SZILAGY  SOMLYO 

BARBARIAN  GOLDSMITH.  HUNGARY. 

7.  VISIGOTHIC     VOTIVE     CROWNS,     MUSEE  8.  PECTORAL  CROSS  OF  ST.  CUTHBERT,  DUR 

CLUNY,  PARIS.  HAM. 


CHILDERIC'S  TOMB 


possession  of  the  French  crown.  Among  them  was 
a  golden  ring  on  which  were  engraved  the  words 
'^Childerici  Regis"  surmounting  a  bust  of  a  man 
with  very  flowing  locks  and  holding  a  spear.  Chil- 
deric,  it  was  known  from  history,  died  in  the  year 
481  A.D.,  so  that  the  find  was  fully  authenticated  and 
dated.  Most  unfortunately  the  objects  were  stolen 
in  the  year  1831,  and  the  thieves,  in  fear  of  capture, 
flung  them  or  most  of  them  into  the  Seine,  whence 
the  majority  were  afterwards  recovered,  though  the 
ring  and  some  other  important  pieces  were  never 
found.  Of  these  however  engravings  exist.  The 
chief  objects  that  survive  are  the  jewelled  mount- 
ings of  the  royal  sword  and  cutlass,  and  the  former 
are  shown  in  fig.  IV,  frontispiece. 

Our  own  country  has  provided  us  with  an  inter- 
esting object  that  is  connected  with  the  name  of  a 
conspicuous  Northumbrian  Saint.  This  is  the  pec- 
toral cross  found  in  the  coffin  of  St.  Cuthbert  at 
Durham,  and  preserved  there  in  the  Cathedral  Lib- 
rary, fig.  8.  It  is  of  silver  set  with  garnets.  St. 
Cuthbert  died  in  687,  and  the  cross  shows  signs  that 
it  had  been  a  good  deal  worn,  so  it  may  date  about 
the  middle  of  the  seventh  century. 


CHAPTER  III 


ROMAN  AND  TEUTON 

Intercourse  of  Roman  and  barbarian  brought  about  by  the  miHtary 
arrangements  of  the  Empire.  Original  seats  of  the  Germans. 
Aspect  in  which  they  presented  themselves  to  the  Romans. 
Bodily  presence  and  dress.  Cultivation  of  the  horse.  Divisions 
and  grouping  of  the  Teutonic  peoples,  as  bearing  on  their  artistic 
history. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  question  mooted  in  the  first 
chapter — How  far  are  we  justified  in  regarding  the 
artistic  work  with  which  we  have  to  deal  as  essenti- 
ally Teutonic  in  style  and  handiwork  ? — can  only  be 
satisfactorily  discussed  on  the  basis  of  the  histori- 
cal relations  between  the  Romans  or  the  Romanized 
provinicials  and  their  Teutonic  neighbours,  both  be- 
fore and  after  the  actual  invasions  of  the  Empire. 
The  story  of  these  relations  is  an  interesting  one, 
and  the  result  on  the  mind  of  one  who  reads  it  is  the 
impression  that  the  intercourse,  especially  in  con- 
nection with  the  army,  was  tolerably  close,  and  that 
the  resultant  influence  was  exercised  by  the  Teuton 

32 


RECIPROCAL  INFLUENCE 

upon  the  Roman  as  well  as  by  the  Roman  upon  the 
Teuton.  The  latter  influence,  that  of  Roman  upon 
Teuton,  was  necessarily  much  the  greater,  but  the 
counter-influence  is  not  to  be  neglected,  as  it  may 
explain  phenomena  not  as  yet  rightly  understood. 
The  late  Alois  Riegl  of  Vienna,  the  most  doughty 
championin  ourowndayof  the  all  Roman  "  theory, 
notices  the  supposed  Teutonic  character  of  the  orna- 
ment on  certain  buckles  of  military  belts,  such  as  that 
shown  in  fig.  9,  and  dwells  on  the  fact  that  the  pieces 
he  figureshave  all  beenfound  in  thetombs  of  Roman 
soldiers.  This  may  be  true,  and  yet  not  disprove 
the  Teutonic  colour  of  the  ornament,  for,  as  Riegl 
admits,  these  very  soldiers  might  themselves  have 
been  Germans,  while  they  were  certainly  in  touch 
with  the  very  large  Germanic  element  present  in  the 
armies  of  the  later  Roman  Empire.  The  interpene- 
tration  in  the  personnel  and  organization  of  thearmy 
of  Roman  and  Germanic  elements  is  a  cardinal  fact 
both  of  the  history  and  the  archaeology  of  the  times, 
and  much  of  the  art  of  the  period  can  only  be  inter- 
preted when  this  fact  is  fully  recognized.  It  will  be 
advisable  therefore  to  spend  a  few  moments  in  con- 
sidering the  facilities  for  intercourse  between  Roman 
and  barbarian  which  were  afforded  by  the  military 
system  of  the  Empire. 

33  3 


ROMAN  AND  TEUTON 

*  The  Roman  spirit  diffused  itself  in  wondrous  fash- 
ion over  the  subject  provinces  of  the  West,  to  whose 
immense  extent  the  area  of  the  city  Rome  was  as 
a  drop  in  the  ocean,  and  provincials  were  often  trans- 
formed with  surprising  quickness  to  Romans  more 
Roman  than  the  dwellers  by  the  Tiber.  Seneca, 
to  whom  we  owe  the  aphorism  Wherever  the 
Roman  conquers  he  inhabits,"  was  a  native  of  Spain. 
The  Emperor  Trajan  was  a  Spaniard,  and  so  too 
at  a  later  time  was  Theodosius  the  Great.  I  n  litera- 
ture, Claudian  and  Sidonius  Apollinaris  were  both 
provincials,  but  in  the  form  and  matter  of  their  writ- 
ings they  were  intensely  Roman.  Roman  influence 
penetrated  in  peaceful  fashion  far  beyond  the  limits 
of  the  nominal  Empire.  During  the  whole  of  the 
early  imperial  period  the  mercatores,"  the  traders, 
whose  knowledge  of  barbarian  lands  was  so  useful 
to  Julius  Caesar,  were  busy  carrying  Roman  pro- 
ducts towards  the  north.  In  Denmark  alone  about 
a  hundred  Roman  bronze  vessels  have  been  found 
that  were  imported  under  these  conditions,  while 
at  the  same  time  Rome  was  in  return  drawing  to 
herself  not  so  much  the  products  as  the  men  of  this 
same  Germanic  region.  She  drew  them  to  service 
in  her  armies,  and  when  active  service  was  over 
she  settled  them  as  military  colonists  along  her 

34 


GERMANS  IN  THE  ARMY 

frontiers.  The  army  was  an  institution,  Roman  in- 
deed in  spirit,  but  composed  of  elements  drawn 
from  a  vastly  wider  area  than  the  ancient  Latium, 
or  even  Italy.  Roman  citizenship  carried  with  it 
the  privilege  of  serving  in  the  legion,  but  provin- 
cial levies  from  populations  not  yet  officially  Roman- 
ized were  joined  to  the  main  army  as  ''auxilia." 
The  Germans  were  naturally  warlike — **Germani 
gens  laeta  bello,"  *'viri  ad  arma  nati,"  Tacitus  calls 
them — and  from  the  time  of  Caesar's  Gallic  cam- 
paigns onwards  they  sought  or  accepted  service  in 
the  only  regular  army  in  their  part  of  the  world. 
We  find  bodies  of  German  irregulars,  chiefly  cav- 
alry, assisting  Caesar  in  Gaul,  and  taking  part  as 
soldiers  of  fortune  on  both  sides  in  the  civil  wars 
that  preceded  the  establishment  in  power  of  Augus- 
tus. Under  Augustus  the  service  of  the  Germans 
was  recognized  as  an  integral  part  of  the  military 
system  of  the  Empire.  Regular  contingents  from 
tribes  under  Roman  authority  now  serve  for  special 
campaigns  under  their  own  native  chieftains.  Ar- 
minius,  the  future  destroyer  of  the  legions  of  Varus, 
brought  a  contingent  of  Cherusci  to  the  army  of 
Tiberius.  Later  on  these  **auxilia"  were  organized 
on  a  more  permanent  footing.  The  tombstone  of 
a  German  cavalry  soldier  of  the  race  of  the  Ubii 

35 


ROMAN  AND  TEUTON 


preserved  at  Chalon-sur-Sa6ne,  gives  us  a  portrait 
of  one  from  about  the  second  century. 

At  first  these  levies  were  locally  enrolled,  and 
served,  commonly  under  native  leaders,  in  their 


own  districts  ;  but  after  the  rebellion  of  Civilis  in 
the  year  70  a.d.,  it  was  found  more  politic  to  em- 
ploy them  for  service  in  districts  far  from  their  own 
territorial  centres.  It  was  in  this  way  that  German 
auxiliaries  were  specially  told  off  for  service  in  Bri- 

36 


GERMAN  AUXILIARY  TROOPS 


tain,  and  the  inscriptions  from  the  Roman  wall  and 
other  parts  make  frequent  mention  of  the  Alae  " 
or  Cohortes"  of  the  Batavians,  the  Tungrians,  or 
the  Frisians.  The  fact  that  some  of  the  future 
Teutonic  conquerors  of  Britain  were  to  come  from 
these  same  regions  of  lower  Germany  is  not  with- 
out significance.  In  the  days  of  Agricola,  we  learn 
from  Tacitus  that  the  auxiliary  troops  in  Britain — 
not  the  legionaries — were  for  the  mostpart  German. 

With  Marcus  Aurelius  and  his  wars  with  the  Mar- 
comanni  upon  the  Danube  begins  an  era  when  Ger- 
man volunteers  from  among  the  non- Romanized 
tribes  came  to  be  employed  on  a  far  larger  scale  than 
was  the  case  previously.  Marcus,  it  was  said, 
**bought  German  aidagainst  Germans,''  and  to  those 
who  had  given  good  service  lands  were  afterwards 
assigned  within  the  frontiers  of  the  empire.  His 
successor  Commodus  had  some  25,000  Quadi  and 
Marcomanni  in  his  pay.  In  the  civil  wars  waged 
about  the  succession  to  the  Empire  in  the  stormy 
times  of  the  latter  part  of  the  third  century  free  Ger- 
mans were  employed  in  enormous  numbers  by  the 
contending  claimants.  At  a  later  date,  in  the  fourth 
century,  archaeology  throws  a  curious  light  on  a  state- 
ment made  by  the  historian  Zosimus  that  the  usurp- 
er Magnentius  hired  a  contingent  of  Saxons  for  his 

37 


ROMAN  AND  TEUTON 


war  against  Constantius.  At  Lengerich  near  Han- 
over, in  what  was  then  Saxon  territory,  there  was 
found  in  1847  a  considerable  hoard  of  newly  minted 
coins  of  this  very  Magnentius,  and  there  is  little 
doubt  that  this  represented  the  actual  pay  received 
by  some  Saxon  chief  for  his  military  aid.  With  the 
coins  were  some  beautiful  gold  objects  of  Roman 
workmanship  that  had  no  doubt  been  sent  up  at  the 
same  time  as  an  additional  gift. 

It  is  said  that  Claudius  Gothicus,  in  the  last  half 
of  the  third  century,  was  the  first  to  give  these  free 
Germans a  fixed  position,  incorporating  them  on  a 
large  scale  in  the  permanent  military  establishment. 

Afterthe  time  of  Constantinethe  interpenetration 
in  the  military  sphere  of  the  Germans  and  the  Ro- 
mans was  carried  much  further,  and  the  importance 
of  the  barbaric  element  was  largely  increased  by  the 
fact  that  the  higher  commands  came  more  and  more 
to  be  filled  by  officers  not  of  Roman  birth.  Before 
Constantine,  German  officers  from  beyond  the 
Rhine  would  only  have  been  in  command  in  the 
auxiliary  forces.  By  the  time  of  Julian,  a  genera- 
tion later.  Dr.  Bang,  the  most  recent  writer  on  the 
subject,  believes  that  more  than  half  the  higher  com- 
mands in  the  army  were  held  by  Germans.  Men 
of  German,  or  partly  German,  birth  came  to  con- 

38 


EFFECT  ON  THE  ROMANS 


trol  Roman  armies,  or  even  to  wield  all  the  forces  of 
the  Empire.  Magnentius  and  Merobaudes  were 
Franks  ;  Modar,  a  Goth  ;  Stilicho  himself,  the  bul- 
wark of  the  Empire,  was  of  Vandal,  Ricimer  of 
Suevic  origin  ;  and  these  men  led  hosts  of  warriors 
of  Teutonic  blood  against  Teutonic  invaders  of  the 
provinces. 

It  is  obvious  that  this  large  infusion  of  Germanic 
elements  into  the  Roman  military  system  must  have 
carried  with  it  consequences  of  a  social  kind  that 
had  their  influences  in  the  domain  of  art.  Roman 
arms  and  methods  of  fighting  were  greatly  modified 
in  the  later  imperial  period  through  the  presence  in 
the  army  of  large  contingents  of  warlike  foreigners. 
Tricks  of  dress  and  fashions  in  ornament  are  easily 
caught  up  from  strangers  whose  conspicuous  prow- 
ess in  war  has  given  them  distinction,  and  Roman 
dandies  are  said  to  have  dyed  their  hair  to  imitate 
the  flaxen  tresses  of  the  Goths  ;  the  Emperor  Gra- 
tian  copied  the  barbarous  magnificence  of  the  dress 
of  the  Alani  who  formed  his  body-guard  ;  and  we 
find  Claudius  Gothicus  himself  writing  to  ask  for 
some  Sarmatian  bows  and  two  Sarmatian  cloaks 
fastened  with  fibulae. 

What  now  was  the  outward  aspect  in  which  the 
northern  babarians  presented  themselves  before  the 

39 


ROMAN  AND  TEUTON 


Roman  provincials  ?  We  have  just  seen  that  they 
did  not  burst  upon  the  astonished  southerner  as 
a  sudden  apparition,  as  the  Huns  burst  upon  the 
Roman  world  in  the  fourth  century,  but  had  long 
been  known  as  neighbours  in  friendly  or  hostile  re- 
lations, through  which  had  come  about  that  inter- 
penetration  of  Roman  and  Teutonic  elements  which 
is  a  cardinal  fact  of  the  times.  These  elements  how- 
ever, say  in  the  fifth  century,  still  remained  distinct, 
and  what  was  characteristically  Teutonic  still  struck 
the  provincial  as  something  strange.  It  is  accord- 
ingly proposed  here  to  sketch  in  a  few  sentences 
some  of  the  more  general  outward  features  in  per- 
son, habits,  and  dress,  of  the  Germanic  invaders  of 
the  Empire. 

Tacitus  believed  that  the  Germans  were  autoch- 
thonous, chiefly  it  seems  for  the  reason  that  their 
country  and  climate  were  so  detestable  that  no  one 
would  make  his  appearance  in  the  region  unless  he 
were  born  there.  Modern  ethnologists  agree  in  the 
main  that  the  Germans  were  indigenous  in  northern 
Europe,  and  some  now  hold  that  this  too  is  the 
original  seat  of  the  Indo-European  race  in  general. 
Popular  tradition,  it  is  true,  based  on  an  obiter 
dictum  in  the  Old  Testament,  cradles  the  race  in 
some  undefined  region  called  Central  Asia.  There 

40 


HOME  OF  THE  GERMANS 


is  no  real  evidence  for  this  ;  and  though  the  soil  of 
Scandinavia  may  be  somewhat  dry  for  a  nursing 
mother  of  peoples,  yet  it  must  be  a  garden  com- 
pared with  the  Hinterland  of  Thibet.  Leaving 
however  this  larger  question  open,  we  may  accept 
the  view  in  which  most  German  and  Scandinavian 
archaeologists  concur,  that  the  district  between  the 
lower  courses  of  the  Elbe  and  the  Oder  or  the  Vis- 
tula, together  with  Schleswig-Holstein,  was  the  first 
home  of  the  Germans,  and  there  are  good  grounds 
for  including  also  southern  Scandinavia.  It  has  at 
any  rate  been  demonstrated  by  the  learned  authors 
of  Antkr apologia  Suecica  that  the  physical  char- 
acteristics ascribed  to  the  Germans  by  classical 
writers  are  preserved  to  this  day  almost  unchanged 
in  southern  Sweden,  so  that  in  the  stately  form  of 
Professor  Oscar  Montelius,  and  the  blonde  hair  and 
grey  eyes  of  Christina  Nilsson,  we  can  recognize  the 
genuine  type  which  Tacitus  contrasted  with  the 
small  alert  bodies  and  olivecomplexionof  his  Italian 
countrymen.  It  is  significant  too  that,  when  the 
period  of  the  migrations  began,  early  historians  as- 
sign Scandinavia  as  the  starting-point  of  some  of  the 
most  important  movements. 

The  large  frames  of  the  northern  barbarians  im- 
pressed the  smaller  men  of  the  south.    The  first 

41 


ROMAN  AND  TEUTON 


Germans  mentioned  by  name  in  history,  the  Bastar- 
nae  who  took  part  in  the  war  of  the  Romans  against 
the  Macedonians  about  i8o  B.C.,  are  described  as  of 
huge  stature.  Caesar  knows  the  Germans  as  of 
great  bodily  bulk,  and  Pomponius  Mela,  Tacitus, 
Ammianus  Marcellinus  and  others  use  correspond- 
ing expressions.  The  passage  chiefly  quoted  in  this 
connection  is  that  in  which  in  the  fifth  century  Sid- 
onius  Apollinaris  refers  in  whimsical  fashion  to  the 
Burgundian  giants  with  whom  he  was  brought  into 
contact  at  Lyons,  and  who,  as  Dr.  Hodgkin  remarks, 
troubled  him,  not  by  their  hostility,  but  by  their  too 
hearty  and  demonstrative  friendship." 
His  lines  run  : 

"  The  sight  of  all  these  patrons  tall 

(Each  one  is  seven  feet  high). 
From  my  poor  muse  makes  every  thought 
Of  six  feet  metres  fly." 

That  he  complains  he  cannot  write  of  seven  feet 
men  in  six  feet  verses  "  is  of  course  a  bit  of  persi- 
flage, not  to  be  taken  too  seriously.  The  skeletons 
that  have  been  measured  in  carefully  excavated 
Teutonic  graves  are  those  of  tall  men  and  women, 
but  not  of  giants. 

There  is  a  popular  tendency  to  magnify  propor- 
tions seen  through  the  mist  of  ages,  and  when  an 

42 


APPEARANCE  OF  THE  GERMANS 


ancient  grave  is  opened  bystanders  look  each  other 
up  and  down  and  murmur  there  were  giants  on  the 
earth  in  those  days."  Baer/mhis  Grader  der  LweUy 
tells  us  that  his  workmen  were  indulging  once  in 
similar  comparisons  when  he  tested  them  by  measur- 
ing the  disinterred  bones  against  those  of  their  own 
limbs,  and  found  that  the  living  men  had  on  the 
whole  the  advantage.  Some  averages  however  in 
the  lengths  of  Teutonic  skeletons,  as  recorded  by 
careful  observers,  are  sufficiently  remarkable. 

What  has  been  said  about  the  Burgundians  must 
be  taken  in  connection  with  the  fact  that  in  their 
graves,  as  in  some  of  those  of  the  Franks,  are  found 
iron  buckles  and  buckle  plates  of  quite  abnormal 
size  and  weight,  that  betoken  much  bodily  prowess 
in  their  wearers. 

The  fair  skin,  the  blue  eyes,  the  flowing  yellow  or 
ruddy  hair  of  the  denizens  of  the  north  are  constant 
features  in  descriptions  and  notices  from  Tacitus 
downwards.  For  men  as  well  as  women  to  wear 
the  hair  long  was  a  common  tradition  among  the 
Teutonic  tribes,  and  many  Roman  tombstones  show 
it,  though  on  the  column  of  Marcus  Aurelius  it  is 
generally  represented  as  short,  though  wild  and 
tumbled.  The  Suevi  are  said  to  have  tied  theirs 
up  in  a  special  kind  of  knot  at  the  side  of  the  head, 

43 


ROMAN  AND  TEUTON 

and  this  seems  sometimes  to  be  represented  in  the 
sculptures.  The  best  example  is  the  bronze  figure 
of  a  German  kneeling  and  apparently  suing  for 
quarter,  in  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale,  Paris,  fig.  lO. 
When  the  Alemanni  charge  the  troops  of  Julian  in 
the  battle  by  Strassburg  their  flowing  hair  bristles 
with  eagerness.  At  a  later  date  extreme  length  of 
locks  on  the  male  head  became  a  speciality  of  the 
royal  race  of  the  Salian  Franks,  the  Merwings  ; 
but  the  free  Teuton  in  general  by  no  means  aban- 
doned his  ample  locks  in  favour  of  the  short-clipped 
hair  of  the  classical  peoples,  but  wore  it  always  fair- 
ly long,  though  cut  all  round  level  with  the  chin. 
These  facts  are  of  importance  in  connection  with  the 
use  of  the  comb  and  of  the  shears  which  are  constant 
items  in  Teutonic  tomb-inventories. 

Tacitus  lays  special  stress  on  the  simplicity  and 
hardiness  of  the  Germans  in  matters  of  dress  and 
bodily  habit.  The  footmen  fight,  he  says,  with  no 
covering  but  a  simple  cloak.  C^sar  reports  at  an 
earlier  date  that  in  the  cold  north  they  were  only 
clad  in  skins  which  left  a  large  part  of  the  body  bare. 
Tacitus  notes  the  use  of  garments  of  hide,  but  says 
that  nearer  the  Roman  border  the  habit  was  going 
out.  He  assigns  however  to  the  well-to-do  a  rather 
more  extensive  outfit,  and  signalizes  specially  vest- 

44 


GERMANIC  DRESS 


ments  that  cling  to  the  figure  and  let  the  shape  of  the 
limbs  appear.  The  reference  no  doubt  is  to  the 
garment  which  we  may  call  the    trews/'  the  brac- 


cse''  of  the  Roman  writers,  the  wearing  of  which  was 
a  characteristic  mark  of  difference  between  Teuton 
and  Roman.  The  simpler  forms  of  dress  indicated 
in  these  descriptions  appear  on  sculptured  monu- 
ments and  in  notices  of  the  aspect  of  the  Germans 

45 


ROMAN  AND  TEUTON 

when  they  presented  themselves  in  person  in  classi- 
cal lands.  In  the  campaign  between  the  armies  of 
Vitellius  and  those  of  Otho  and  of  Vespasian  about 
Cremona  in  North  Italy,  in  the  year  70  a.d.,  the 
citizens  marvel  at  the  huge  bodies  of  the  German  ir- 
regulars, in  ancestral  fashion  semi-nude,  or  hungwith 
the  skins  of  beasts.  Roman  military  tombstones 
exhibit  prostrate  Germans  clad  only  in  the  cloak  (see 
illustration  froma  tombstone  at  Mainz),  orthe  trews, 
assigned  to  them  by  Tacitus  ;  and  a  characteristic 
group  on  the  column  of  Marcus  Aurelius  shows  us 
a  fight  between  a  legionary  and  a  German  who  is 
dressed  in  the  trews  and  a  loose  cloak  like  the  kneel- 
ing figure  in  fig.  10.  At  a  much  later  date,  in  the 
sixth  century,  Agathias  describes  the  foot  soldiers  of 
the  Prankish- Alemannic  host  that  Butilin  led  into 
Italy  in  553  as  dressed  only  in  the  trews,  covering 
the  loins  and  lower  limbs. 

The  complete  normal  dress  of  the  men  of  the  up- 
per ranks  embraced  of  course  more  elements  than 
these,  and  was  by  no  means  poor  or  scanty.  We 
are  indeed  told  that  the  Gothic  youths  who  were  dis- 
tributed as  hostages  in  Roman  cities  when  the  Visi- 
goths were  allowed  to  cross  the  Danube  in  376  were 
admired  as  much  for  their  rich  attire  as  for  their  fair 
presence.    The  most  satisfactory  picture  we  obtain 

46 


ATTIRE  OF  CHARLES 

of  this  dress  is  derived  from  the  descriptions  we 
possess  of  the  attire  of  Charles  the  Great,  who  made 
it  a  matter  of  patriotic  pride  to  adhere  to  the  tra- 
ditional Prankish  costume.  It  may  be  noticed  here 
indeed,  that  in  dress  and  manners  the  Germans  re- 
mained German  throughout  the  whole  of  the  period, 
and  were  only  to  a  slight  extent  Romanized.  Quite 
recently,  in  connection  with  the  exploration  of  the 
Bavarian  or  Marcomannic  cemetery  of  Reichenhall, 
near  Salzburg,  the  author  of  the  report  calls  atten- 
tion to  the  survival  in  the  Bavarian  and  Tyroleseup- 
lands  of  several  features  of  the  dress  of  the  earliest 
period.  At  Aachen  or  Ingelheim  Charles  clothed 
his  magnificent  frame  in  linen  combinations  over 
which  came  hose  or  trews  and  a  woollen  jerkin 
trimmed  with  silk.  The  shoes,  which  were  buckled 
over  the  feet,  had  attached  to  them  bands,  three  ells 
in  length,  that  were  wound  round  the  leg,  crossing 
at  front  and  at  back,  as  far  as  the  knee,  where  they 
were,  as  we  know  from  other  evidence,  fastened  with 
small  buckles.  This  fashion  explains  the  numerous 
small  buckles  and  strap  ends  that  occur  in  Teutonic 
graves.  To  protect  the  upper  part  of  the  body  from 
the  cold  Charles  wore  a  garment  that  can  be  traced 
back  as  one  of  the  most  primitive  articles  of  vesture. 
This  was  a  sort  of  cape  or  scapular  of  fur  that 

47 


ROMAN  AND  TEUTON 

shielded  the  front  and  back  of  the  body  as  far  as  the 
hips  or  the  knees.  It  is  called  in  Caesar  and  other 
writers  rheno/'  and  one  of  these  tells  us  that  its 
name  was  derived  from  that  of  an  animal — obviously 
the  reindeer.  Charles'  rheno  "  however  was  of 
otter  or  sable.  Finally,  a  sea-green  mantle,  clasped 
on  the  shoulder,  no  doubt  by  a  handsome  fibula, 
completed  the  attire.  A  sword  was  always  worn  in 
the  belt  wherewith  the  tunic  was  girded.  This  belt, 
broad  and  strong  and  tightly  fastened  with  a  sub- 
stantial and  often  richly  adorned  buckle,  was 
characteristic  of  the  Germanic  attire,  and  consti- 
tuted, as  Riegl  has  pointed  out,  a  marked  difference 
between  it  and  the  classical  dress  which  was  more 
loosely  girt.  Hence  the  far  greater  importance  of 
the  buckle,  as  compared  with  the  fibula,  in  Teutonic 
as  compared  with  classical  times. 

The  arms  and  method  of  fighting  of  the  Germans 
will  be  better  treated  of  in  connection  with  the  wea- 
pons that  form  so  large  a  part  of  their  tomb  furni- 
ture. A  word  may  be  said  here  about  their  use  of 
the  horse. 

The  Germans  had  equestrian  tastes,  but  in  the 
migration  period  they  depended  much  less  on  their 
mounts  than  did  their  medieval  successors  of  the 
age  of  chivalry,  or  the  nomad  peoples  of  the  steppes 

48 


PLATE 


9.  BUCKLE  FOUND  AT  SMITHFIELD,  BRITISH 
MUSEUM. 

II.  GROUP  FROM  COLUMN  OF  MARCUS  AU- 
RELIUS. 


Ill 


12 


10.  BRONZE  FIGURE  OF  A  GERMAN,  BIBI.IO- 
THEQUE  NATIONALE,  PARIS. 

12.   GERMANIC    LADV    IN    WAGGON,  FROM 
COLUMN  OF  MARCUS  AURELIUS. 


USE  OF  THE  HORSE 


of  southern  Russia.  It  was  said  that  the  Teutonic 
descent  of  the  Bastarnse  was  shown  by  the  fact 
that  they  relied  on  their  feet,  while  the  Sarmatians 
of  the  same  great  region  spent  their  life  in  waggons 
and  on  horseback.  Caesar  tells  us  that  in  cavalry 
fights  the  Germans  often  leapt  from  their  horses 
and  continued  the  combat  on  foot,  and  this  was  re- 
cognized as  a  German  practice  even  at  the  time  of 
the  Crusades.  When  Julian  met  the  Alemannic 
army  for  the  great  fight  near  Strassburg,  the  king 
and  the  chieftains  of  the  barbarians  sprang  from 
their  horses  and  ranged  themselves  with  the  rank- 
and-file  on  foot.  This  all  has  a  bearing  on  the  ques- 
tion of  the  burial  of  the  horse  of  the  warrior  in  the 
same  grave  as  his  master.  Tacitus  says  that  this 
sometimes  took  place,  and  the  actual  tombs  of  the 
migration  period  exhibit  examples  of  the  practice, 
though  these  are  not  so  numerous  as  might  have 
been  the  case  had  the  knight  and  his  steed  been  as 
inseparable  as  they  became  in  the  later  ages  of 
chivalry. 

Of  the  appearance  and  attire  of  the  German 
women  we  learn  from  Tacitus  that  they  dressed  like 
the  men,  but  wore  more  often  linen  garments  and 
decked  these  with  purple.  Arms  and  throat  were 
uncovered.    The  long  hair  of  which  we  have  many 

49  4 


ROMAN  AND  TEUTON 


notices  was  evidently  never  so  bound  up  with  dia- 
dems or  veils  that  its  colour,  its  abundance,  and  even 
its  ample  length  were  concealed.  Unmarried  girls 
wore  their  tresses  loose,  with  only  a  band  round 
the  forehead,  but  among  the  older  women  they 
were  often  bound  up  into  a  knot  and  held  by  one  or 
two  of  the  handsome  hair  pins  found  so  often  in  the 
tombs. 

In  contradistinction  to  what  Tacitus  tells  us  of 
the  bare  arms  of  the  German  women  we  find  them 
often  represented  on  the  Antonine  column  in  long 
robes  with  sleeves  to  the  wrist,  and  over-mantles 
that  are  sometimes  drawn  over  the  head  like  a  veil. 
It  is  evident  that  the  German  women  wore  a  sort 
of  shift  or  under  tunic  more  voluminous  than  that 
of  the  men,  with  a  cloak  over  it,  and  that  the  former 
was  fastened  somewhat  differently  from  that  of  the 
menis  shown  bythe  common  occurrence  in  women's 
graves  of  fibulae  in  pairs,  while  single  fibulae  are 
found  in  corresponding  positions  in  those  of  men. 
The  two  illustrations,  figs,  ii  and  12,  are  from  the 
column  of  Marcus  Aurelius,  and  exhibit,  fig.  1 1 ,  a 
group  of  Roman  soldiers  and  Teutonic  captives,  in- 
cluding a  bearded  chieftain  and  two  sons,  while  in 
fig.  1 2  we  have  the  interesting  representation  of  a 
Germanic  lady  with  a  child  riding  in  an  ox  waggon, 

SO 


DRESS  OF  THE  WOMEN 


no  doubt  of  the  pattern  used  so  largely  in  the  course 
of  the  migrations  of  the  succeeding  centuries. 

As  was  the  case  with  Greek  ladies  of  the  Homeric 
age,  the  mistresses  of  the  household  with  their 
maidens  about  them  would  spin  and  dye  and  weave 
and  embroider  all  the  fine  clothes  required  for  them- 
selves and  for  their  men-folk. 

Priscus,  in  his  description  of  his  visit  to  Attila  s 
royal  seat  in  Hungary,  shows  us  the  consort  of  the 
Hunnish  monarch  with  her  maids  dyeing  linen  for 
the  ornamentation  of  clothes,  and  at  a  later  date  we 
find  Theodoric  the  Ostrogoth,  on  the  eve  of  his  de- 
cisive battle  against  Odoacer  for  the  lordship  of 
Italy,  giving  charge  to  his  mother  and  sister  to  bring 
out  for  him  the  richly  adorned  robes  they  had  been 
preparing,  that  he  might  shine  in  all  his  splendour 
in  the  forefront  of  his  troops. 

So  far  the  appearance  and  dress  of  the  Teutonic 
peoples  have  been  dealt  with  as  a  whole,  without 
any  notice  of  special  points  of  difference  which  in- 
dicate ethnographical  divisions.  A  considerable 
part  of  the  interest  and  the  difficulty  of  the  study 
before  us  consists  in  finding  an  answer  to  the  con- 
stantly recurring  question  :  To  what  people  does 
this  or  that  cemetery  or  this  or  that  set  of  objects 
or  single  object  belong  ?    To  approach  such  ques- 

51 


ROMAN  AND  TEUTON 


tions  from  the  proper  standpoint,  it  is  advisable  to 
have  some  idea  of  the  relationships  and  differences 
among  the  various  branches  of  the  Teutonic  name. 
Now  ancient  writers,  especially  Pliny  and  Tacitus, 
have  preserved  for  us  certain  names  of  groups,  which 
must  have  had  some  real  ethnographical  meaning. 
It  is  truethatthedivisionsthusindicatedbecomecon- 
fusedwhen  the  actual  migrations  are  in  progress,  yet 
one  of  the  latest  historians  of  the  Germanic  peoples. 
Dr.  Ludwig  Schmidt,  believes  that  we  may  learn 
from  numerous  examples  out  of  the  age  of  the  mi- 
grations that  the  feeling  of  kinship,  of  close  connec- 
tion, retained  its  freshness  and  its  strength  among 
the  single  peoples  even  after  many  years  of  separa- 
tion.'' It  is  obvious  that  traditional  associations  of 
this  kind  may  have  an  interest  for  the  antiquary 
in  that  they  may  explain  similarities  in  taste  and 
practice  within  the  domain  of  art. 

As  regards  these  subdivisions  of  the  Germanic 
race,  it  is  convenient  to  make  two  main  groups,  the 
East  Germans  and  the  West  Germans.  The  chief 
constituents  of  the  former  were  the  Vandals,  whose 
name  according  to  Pliny's  information  applied  at 
one  time  to  the  whole  East  German  group  ;  the 
Burgundians ;  the  Lombards  ;  ^  and  the  Goths,  in 

^  On  the  ethnology  of  the  Lombards,  as  upon  that  of  some  others 

52 


DIVISIONS  OF  THE  GERMANS 


their  two  great  branches  the  Ostro-  and  the  Visi- 
Goths.  All  these  are  important  historical  peoples, 
but  with  them  are  grouped  other  peoples  who  have 
not  left  such  a  mark  on  history,  namely  the  Gepidae, 
the  Heruli,  and  other  minor  units,  such  as  the  Rugii, 
the  Turcilingi,  and  the  Sciri. 

Pliny  applies  the  collective  term  *'Ingvaeones"  to 
the  peoples  of  the  Cimbric  Chersonese  and  adjacent 
regions,  including  the  older  Cimbri  and  Teutones  of 
the  last  age  of  the  Roman  Republic  and  the  Chauci, 
and  under  this  term  may  be  included  the  subsequent- 
ly individualized  Frisians,  Angles,  Jutes,  and  Sax- 
ons, from  whom  proceeded  the  Teutonic  inhabitants 
of  the  British  Isles.  These  form  one  section  of  the 
West  Germans. 

Another  group  of  West  Germans,  called  the 
Herminones,"  included  the  Cherusci,  famousasthe 
people  of  Arminius,  whose  destruction  of  the  legions 
of  Varus  in  the  year  9  a.d.  was  of  decisive  import 
for  the  future  relations  of  Roman  and  barbarian;  the 
Suevi,  whose  name  survives  in  the  medieval  and 
modern  Suabia  ;  the  Quadi  and  the  Marcomanni, 

of  the  peoples  mentioned  below,  there  has  been  much  controversy. 
The  text  follows  the  view  of  the  writer  quoted  above.  For  divergent 
opinions  and  a  discussion  of  the  whole  subject,  see  the  chapter  on 
"The  Classification  of  the  Ancient  Germani"  in  Mr.  Chadwick's 
Origin  of  the  English  Nation^  Cambridge,  1907. 

53 


ROMAN  AND  TEUTON 


against  whom  Marcus  Aurelius  carried  on  his  cam- 
paigns upon  the  Danube ;  and  the  Bavarians,  who 
seem  to  have  been  a  part  of  the  Marcomanni,  de- 
riving their  name  from  the  fact  that  they  once  dwelt 
in  Bohemia,  so  called  from  its  earlier  inhabitants 
the  Celtic  Boii.  These,  with  the  Hermunduri  and 
Thuringi,  form  a  group  occupying  seats  and  carry- 
ing out  movements  in  the  central  districts  of  Ger- 
many. More  intimate  in  their  relations  with  the 
Romans  were  the  Alemanni,  who  occupied  the  dis- 
trict between  the  upper  waters  of  the  Rhine  and 
those  of  the  Danube,  where,  as  we  shall  see,  the 
natural  frontier  of  the  Empire  had  its  vulnerable 
point 

Lastly,  under  the  general  name  Istvseones,"  are 
grouped  a  number  of  tribes  most  of  which  are  in- 
significant, but  which  include  the  most  important 
people  of  all,  the  Franks.  When  the  Franks  first 
appear  in  history,  in  the  third  century  a.d.,  in  the 
days  of  Valerian  and  Gallienus,  they  were  divided 
into  two  branches,  the  Salian  and  the  Ripuarian 
Franks.  The  former  occupied  what  is  now  Hol- 
land and  Belgium,  and  may  have  derived  their 
name  from  Salland,"  once  the  name  of  a  district  to 
the  east  of  the  Zuyder  Zee,  or  as  others  have  sug- 
gested, from  *'Sal,''  '*Salt,''  as  living  by  the  sea  ; 

54 


THE  HEROIC  LITERATURE 


whereas  the  other  branch,  which  was  to  produce  in 
time  the  Carolingian  house,  certainly  derived  its 
appellation  from  the  fact  of  its  dwelling  more  inland, 
by  the  banks,    Ripae,''  of  the  river  Rhine. 

This  matter  of  the  grouping  of  the  peoples  leads 
to  the  archaeological  question  whether  the  objects 
made  and  used  by  the  peoples  of  any  one  group 
have  any  special  affinity.  There  is,  as  we  have  seen, 
a  common  Germanic  character  over  the  whole  area. 
Is  there  a  common  character  belonging  to  the  East 
German  or  to  the  West  German  tomb  furniture  ? 
The  answer  is  in  the  negative.  These  old  ethnogra- 
phical groupings  have  little  archaeological  signifi- 
cance, and  the  similarities  and  differences  to  be  ob- 
served in  the  collections  of  tomb  furniture  in  the 
domains  of  the  various  peoples  seem  to  be  due  to 
local  contiguity  or  separation,  and  to  comparative 
facilities  of  intercourse,  rather  than  to  reasons  of 
race.  Thus  the  tomb  furniture  of  the  Jutes  and  of 
the  Angles  in  our  own  country  is  quite  different, 
though  the  peoples  were  near  akin.  There  is  a 
reason  for  this  which  we  shall  see  later  on. 

Our  historical  information  about  these  peoples  in 
the  pre-migration  period  is  of  course  scanty,  but  it 
can  to  some  extent  be  supplemented  from  the  data 
furnished  by  the  older  heroic  literature  of  the  Teu- 

55 


ROMAN  AND  TEUTON 

tonic  race.  These  poems,  of  which  the  most  inter- 
esting to  ourselves  is  the  Anglo-Saxon  Beowulf, 
received  their  literary  form  at  a  comparatively  late 
date — Beowulf  probably  in  the  eighth,  the  Nibel- 
ungenlied  in  the  eleventh  century — and  contain 
of  course  elements  of  varied  date  and  character. 
There  is  in  them  an  ingredient  of  primeval  folk-lore, 
but  there  is  also  a  distinct  historical  basis  for  many 
of  their  incidents  and  characters,  so  that  it  has  been 
gravely  argued  that  the  Sigfried  of  the  Nibelung  lay 
is  none  other  than  the  national  hero  Arminius.  This 
historical  thread  that  runs  through  the  poems,  when 
disentangled  from  the  other  strands  with  which  it  is 
twisted  up,  is  sometimes  of  great  value,  and  from 
Beowulf  xh^Y^  is  not  a  little  to  be  learned  about  our 
Anglian  forefathers  when  they  still  dwelt  in  Schles- 
wig.  Then,  thirdly,  there  is  the  staging  of  the 
poems  with  all  the  descriptions  of  local  incidents, 
and  references  to  buildings,  weapons,  dress,  and  all 
the  apparatus  of  daily  life.  Much  of  this  belongs 
necessarily  to  the  later  periods  of  the  evolution  of 
the  piece  as  a  literary  product,  and  the  antiquary 
must  needs  be  careful  how  he  employs  these  notices 
as  evidence  for  an  earlier  condition  of  things. 

The  actual  movements  of  the  various  sections  of 
the  Teutonic  people  in  the  migration  period  will  be 

56 


CONVERSION  OF  THE  GERMANS 


most  conveniently  treated  from  the  geographical 
point  of  view.  In  the  next  chapter  we  will  follow 
these  movements  on  the  map,  and  will  take  occasion 
from  time  to  time  to  notice  the  non-Teutonic,  as 
well  as  the  ecclesiastical,  influences  brought  to  bear 
on  the  various  tribes  in  the  different  regions  where 
they  made  a  prolonged  or  a  temporary  sojourn. 

The  question  of  the  conversion  of  the  branches 
of  the  Teutonic  name  to  Christianity  is  also  one 
not  to  be  passed  over.  With  the  exception  of  the 
invaders  of  our  own  island  all  the  Teutonic  peoples 
were  nominally  Christian  before  they  actually  oc- 
cupied the  Roman  provinces.  The  form  of  their 
Christianity  was,  as  a  rule,  however,  Arian,  not 
Catholic,  and  this  is  a  fact  of  importance  in  relation 
to  their  history.  The  one  exception  was  the  race 
of  the  Franks,  for  Clovis  when  he  received  baptism 
in  496  A.D.  embraced  the  Catholic  form  of  the  re- 
ligion, and  this  had  a  notable  influence  on  the  po- 
sition of  the  people,  for  it  enlisted  on  the  side  of 
the  Franks  all  the  vast  influence  of  the  Roman 
clergy. 


CHAPTER  IV 


MIGRATIONS    AND    SETTLEMENTS  OF  OUR  TEUTONIC 
FOREFATHERS 

The  relations  of  the  Romans  with  their  neighbours  in  the  north  before 
the  Migration  Period.  Importance  of  the  Marcomannic  war  of 
Marcus  Aurelius.  Early  History,  and  relations  with  the  Empire, 
of  the  Goths.  Historical  and  artistic  importance  of  the  Goths. 
Their  connection  with  Runic  writing. 

The  Vandals  and  Suevi.  The  Alemanni  and  Bavarians.  The  Bur- 
gundians.  The  Lombards.  The  Franks.  Absorption  by  the 
Franks  of  the  other  Teutonic  kingdoms  of  Central  Europe. 

Speaking  very  broadly,  in  the  last  century  before 
the  Christian  era,  western  Europe  may  be  regarded 
as  divided  into  three  zones  stretching  along  its 
length  from  east  to  west.  The  Mediterranean 
zone,  including  the  southward-tending  peninsulas 
of  Greece,  Italy,  and  Spain,  was  Roman  or  in  pro- 
cess of  becoming  Romanized.  North  of  the  line 
of  the  Alps,  in  Gaul,  Switzerland,  and  to  an  unde- 
fined extent  farther  to  the  east,  the  population  was 
Celtic ;  while  the  third  zone,  beyond  the  well-marked 

S8 


EARLY  INCURSIONS 


frontier  drawn  by  the  courses  of  the  Rhine  and  the 
Danube,  was,  in  the  west-    ^  


selves  conspicuous  in  the  histories  both  of  Rome  and 
Greece,  but  till  the  time  of  Julius  Caesar  little  was 
known  about  the  Germans.  One  German  tribe, 
the  Bastarnse,  had  migrated  before  200  B.C.  to  the 
regions  north  of  the  Black  Sea,  where  they  threat- 
ened the  Greek  colonies,  such  as  Olbia,  and  took  part 
in  the  Macedonian  and  Mithridatic  wars  of  the 
second  and  first  centuries  B.C.  The  incursion  of  the 
Cimbri  and  Teutones  of  the  days  of  Marius  repre- 

1  The  shading  on  the  maps  indicates  in  its  different  fashions  the 
regions  occupied  by  the  various  peoples,  and  is  used  consistently 
through  the  series.  Thus  shading  in  vertical  lines  indicates  Roman 
territory  ;  in  horizontal  Hnes  Celtic,  and  afterwards  Alemannic  ;  in 
lines  sloping  from  right  to  left  and  from  above  downwards,  Frankish  ; 
with  the  reverse  slope,  Burgundian.  Gothic  territory  is  dotted. 
Curved  lines  are  used  for  other  Teutonic  peoples. 


With  their  Celtic  neigh- 
bours the  classical  peoples 
became  familiar  enough, 
and  the  Gauls  made  them- 


ern  part  at  any  rate,  inha- 
bited by  Teutonic  peoples, 
the  Slavs  beginning  al- 
ready to  press  in  from  the 
east.    See  Map  A.^ 


Europe  c.  60  B.C.  Before  Caesar's 
Gallic  Wars. 


59 


MIGRATIONS  AND  SETTLEMENTS 


sentedapparently  a  sporadic  movement  of  Germanic 
tribes  from  the  far  north,  who  followed  into  the 
southern  peninsulas  the  earlier  Gallic  invaders.  A 
more  serious  movement  was  in  progress  when  about 
71  B.C.,  the  German  chief,  Ariovistus,  representing 
one  branch  of  the  great  confederation  of  the  Suevi, 
was  invited  into  Gaul  by  the  Sequani  to  help  them 
in  a  quarrel  with  another  Gallic  tribe  the  Hedui. 
About  the  same  time  there  was  a  pressure  felt  from 
north  to  south  on  the  upper  course  of  the  Danube  ; 
and  what  is  now  Bohemia,  which  has  its  name  from 
its  earlier  inhabitants  the  Celtic  Boii,  saw  these 
driven  southward  and  replaced  by  the  Teutonic 
Marcomanni,  who  in  the  time  of  Marcus  Aurelius 
were  to  give  trouble  to  Rome  on  this  part  of  the 
frontier.  I  n  the  case  of  Ariovistus  and  his  followers, 
there  came  about  what  generally  happens  in  similar 
circumstances,  and  the  German  guests  proceeded  to 
settle  themselves  comfortably  down  in  occupation 
of  considerable  tracts  of  Gallic  territory.  Julius 
Caesar,  who  was  then  administering  the  Roman 
province  of  Gallia  Narbonensis,  discerned  the 
danger  of  a  spread  of  this  flood  of  Teutonism  over 
Gaul.  He  succeeded  in  58  b.c.  in  driving  Ario- 
vistus back  over  the  Rhine,  and  in  establishing  this 
river  as  the  recognized  boundary  between  the  Gallic 

60 


FRONTIER  OF  AUGUSTUS 


and  the  Germanic  zones,  though  a  not  inconsider- 
able German  population  remained  permanently 
located  on  the  left,  or  Gallic,  bank  of  the  stream. 

The  problem  of  the  future  relations  of  Rome  with 
the  Germans  was  discussed  and  fought  over  during 
a  good  part  of  the  reign  of  Augustus.  In  the  earlier 
part  of  his  reign  it  was  evidently  the  intention  of 
that  ruler  to  extend  the  Roman  domain  up  to  the 
line  of  the  Elbe,  and  in  consequence  of  military  mea- 
sures on  a  large  scale  the  coast  line  inhabited  by 
Batavians  and  Frisians  became  Roman  at  least  as 
far  as  the  Ems.  The  nature  of  the  German  resist- 
ance had  however  decided  that  inner  Germany 
was  never  to  become  part  of  the  Roman  Empire, 
and  in  the  famous  document  in  which  Augustus 
left  on  record  his  mature  convictions  on  public  affairs, 
it  was  evidently  indicated  that  the  future  boundary 
between  the  Roman  and  the  German  zone  was  to 
be  the  line  of  the  Rhine  and  Danube.  At  this  time 
what  had  previously  been  the  Celtic  zone  had  be- 
come Romanized,  so  that  now  there  are  two  great 
belts  shown  on  Map  B,  the  Roman  to  the  south,  the 
Teutonic  and  Slavic  to  the  north  of  this  great  natural 
boundary.  The  policy  of  Augustus  was  followed  in 
the  main  by  his  successors,  but  Trajan  by  establish- 
ing the  great  province  of  Dacia  to  the  north  of  the 

6i 


MIGRATIONS  AND  SETTLEMENTS 


lower  Danube  extended  to  somewhat  dangerous 
B  limits  the  eastern  part 

of  the  Empire.  By  the 
same  time  there  had 
been  brought  about  a 
further  rectification  of 
frontier  in  the  western 
part  that  was  of  more  ob- 
vious  advantage  to  the 

ThTRoman  Empire-Frontier  of  The  Rhine 

Augustus.  and  the  Danube  in  the 

uppermost  parts  of  their  courses  flow,  the  one  to 
the  north-west  the  other  to  the  north-east,  and  they 
leave  between  them  a  large  triangular  district  that 
is  partly  occupied  by  the  Black  Forest.  When  the 
two  streams  approach  points  in  their  flow  corre- 
sponding roughly  to  Mainz  and  to  Regensburg,  their 
courses  are  more  or  less  in  a  straight  line  which  cuts 
across  Europe  from  the  North  Sea  to  the  Euxine, 
and  forms  the  natural  boundary  already  spoken  of. 
To  complete  this  line  the  points  on  the  rivers  just 
named  were  joined  by  a  line  of  forts  and  a  palisade, 
using  in  part  the  ridge  of  the  Taunus  mountains 
and  the  course  of  the  Main  as  its  base.  This  is  the 
so-called  German  ''Limes"  or  '*  Pfahlgraben,"  one 
of  the  forts  on  which,  the  Saalburg,  is  familiar  to 

62 


MARCOMANNIC  WAR 


visitors  to  Homburg.  The  Roman  Empire  at  its  full- 
est extent  in  the  time  of  C 
Hadrian,  so  far  as  the 
boundary  against  the 
Germans  is  concerned, 
is  shown  in  Map  C. 

Not  long  after  this, 
in  the  time  of  Marcus 
Aurelius,  occurred  the 
first  serious  conflict  up-  ~,   ^  ^ 

^      The  Roman  Empire,  c,  12^  A.D. 
on  the  boundary  thus  Temp.  Hadrian. 

established  between  the  Romans  and  their  neigh- 
bours to  the  north,  an  event  that  may  be  said  to 
usher  in  the  period  of  the  Teutonic  migrations. 
The  reference  is  to  the  Marcomannic  and  Sar- 
matian  wars  waged  by  Marcus  Aurelius  along  the 
middle  course  of  the  Danube  about  170  a.d.  The 
troubles  began  with  the  incursions  into  the  Empire 
of  hordes  of  northern  barbarians  who  penetrated 
as  far  as  the  Adriatic.  The  causes  of  this  move- 
ment are  to  be  found  in  events  in  Germany  itself, 
to  which  we  must  presently  turn  our  attention, 
but  for  the  moment  it  may  be  noticed  that  the 
Emperor  succeeded  in  re-establishing  the  frontier, 
though  not,  as  he  seems  to  have  designed,  in  extend- 
ing it.   At  the  same  time  he  adopted  a  plan  of  far- 

63 


MIGRATIONS  AND  SETTLEMENTS 


reaching  importance  when  he  established  on  the 
Roman  side  a  large  number  of  barbarian  settlers, 
who  held  their  lands  on  condition  of  serving  in  the 
defence  of  the  frontiers.  Thus  began,"  it  has 
been  said,  ''the  momentous  process  by  which  the 
declining  population  of  the  Empire  was  replaced 
by  a  fresh  stock  of  northern  peoples  ;  for  each  suc- 
ceeding Emperorfollowed  the  precedent  set  by  Mar- 
cus, until  a  century  later  there  was  not  a  province 
free  from  the  presence  of  the  barbarian  settler."  It 
has  been  noticed  already  (cinte,  p.  39)  that  this  inter- 
penetration  of  barbarian  and  Roman,  or  rather  Ro- 
manized provincial,  along  all  the  frontiers,  while  it 
prepared  the  way  for  the  later  invasions,  had  also  a 
considerable  importance  from  the  point  of  view  of 
archaeology. 

This  Marcomannic  war  is  regarded  as  opening 
the  period  of  the  Teutonic  migrations,  because  the 
pressure  southwards  out  of  which  it  arose  was  in  all 
probability  caused  by  a  movement  of  peoples  in  the 
interior  of  Germany,  or  rather  of  central  Europe. 
The  movement  in  question  is  that  of  the  Gothic 
people  from  the  shores  of  the  Baltic  to  the  lands  to 
the  north  of  the  Black  Sea.  The  Goths  believed 
that  they  came  originally  from  the  Scandinavian 
peninsulas,  but  they  certainly  passed  the  last  two  or 

64 


APPEARANCE  OF  THE  GOTHS 


three  centuries  B.C.  and  the  first  of  the  Christian 
era  in  the  territory  washed  in  its  lower  course  by 
the  Vistula.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  second  cen- 
tury A.D.  a  great  migration  carried  them  to  the 
south  and  east,  and  brought  them  into  touch  with 
the  flourishing  seats  of  ancient  classical  civilization 
on  the  northern  shores  of  the  Black  Sea.  The 
Goths  are  the  most  in-  D 
teresting,  the  most  gift- 
ed, and  to  all  appear- 
ance the  most  artistic  of 
the  peoples  with  which 
we  shall  have  to  deal. 
Their  intercourse  with 
the  Greeks  of  Ty  ras  and 
Olbia,  of  Panticapseum, 

the  modern  Kerch,  and       Early  History  of  the  Goths. 

of  other  classical  centres,  could  not  fail  to  have  an 
educative  influence.  These  early  movements  of  the 
Goths,  as  connected  with  the  Marcomannic  wars 
on  the  Danube,  are  illustrated  on  Map  D. 

There  were  two  sections  of  the  Gothic  name,  the 
Ostrogoths  and  the  Visigoths,  and  it  is  a  popular 
belief,  probably  erroneous,  but  one  to  which  the  geo- 
graphical relations  of  the  two  give  some  colour,  that 
the  first  syllables  of  these  names  mean  respectively 

65  5 


MIGRATIONS  AND  SETTLEMENTS 


''east"  and  ''west."  Within  a  century  of  their 
settlement  in  the  plains  of  southern  Russia  we  find 
them  brought  into  very  active  relations  with  the 
classical  lands  to  the  south  and  west  of  their  seats. 
They  were  now  on  the  confines  of  the  Roman  Em- 
pire and  stood  to  the  Romans  in  a  relation  which 
must  once  for  all  be  understood.  Jordanes,  the 
historian  of  the  Goths,  tells  us  that  at  this  time 
"though  they  lived  far  off  under  their  own  kings,  yet 
they  were  at  the  same  time  allied  (foederati)  to 
the  Roman  state,  and  received  annual  gifts."  What 
these  "gifts  "  implied  we  will  presently  inquire,  but 
that  much  importance,  in  fact  or  in  feeling,  was 
attached  to  them  is  shown  by  the  events  which 
followed  when  under  the  Emperor  Philip  the  Ara- 
bian, about  245  A.D.,  they  were  withheld  by  the 
Romans.  The  Goths,  and  other  Germans  whose 
seats  were  to  the  north  and  west  of  theirs,  broke  out 
into  open  hostilities  against  the  civilized  inhabitants 
of  the  classical  provinces.  Numerous  raids  both  by 
sea  and  land,  round  the  coasts  of  Asia  Minor  and  of 
the  -^gean  and  into  the  Balkan  peninsula,  made 
them  masters  of  the  spoil  of  some  of  the  richest  cities 
of  the  time  such  as  Trebizond.  With  the  Heruli 
and  others  of  their  German  neighbours  they  at  one 
time  even  attacked,  but  were  repelled  from,  Athens, 

66 


GOTHS  IN  DACIA 


and  they  actually  spoiled  the  Temple  of  Diana  at 
Ephesus.  In  the  region  of  the  Danube  the  Goths 
overran  the  Roman  province  of  Dacia  and  raided 
the  lands  to  the  south  of  the  river  almost  to  the 
gates  of  Constantinople.  Battles  were  fought  with 
varying  success.  In  250  they  captured  Philippo- 
polis,  and  as  they  were  retiring  laden  with  booty 
they  were  attacked  by  E 
the  army  of  the  Em- 
peror Decius.  The 
Romans  suffered  a 
severe  defeat  and  De- 
cius himself  fell  in  the 
action.  Map  E  illus- 
trates the  localities 
and  dates  of  these 
movements  by  sea  and 

Gothic  Raids  by  Sea  and  Land.  Temp, 
Twenty  years  later   Decius  and  Claudius,  a.d.  250-270. 

in  this  same  Balkan  region  the  Emperor  Claudius 
Gothicus  annihilated  an  immense  Gothic  army  and 
struck  thereby  a  blow  that  had  far-reaching  results. 
In  the  first  place  the  commanding  position  of  the 
Goths  in  that  region  was  so  far  recognized  that  the 
machinery  of  Roman  government  was  now  re- 
moved from  Dacia,  which  was  abandoned  to  the 

67 


MIGRATIONS  AND  SETTLEMENTS 

Visigoths.  There  was  still  left  however  much  that 
was  Roman,  and  this  exercised  a  civilizing  influence 
on  the  newcomers.  The  great  roads,"  as  Dr. 
Hodgkin  remarks,  *'the  cities,  the  mines,  the  baths, 
the  camps,  the  temples,  remained  to  impress,  to 
fascinate,  to  attract,  the  minds  of  the  barbarians." 
Furthermore,  during  the  comparatively  peaceful 
period  that  follows  for  nearly  a  century  (from  270 
to  367),  the  Visigoths  (and  also  the  Ostrogoths) 
received  Christianity  in  its  Arian  form  through  the 
agency  of  the  missionary  bishop  Ulfilas,and  in  other 
ways  became  strongly  tinctured  with  classical  civili- 
zation. They  lived  of  course  under  their  own  laws 
and  paid  no  imperial  taxes,  but  in  military  matters 
they  acted  as  foederati or  allies,  co-operating 
with  the  Roman  forces  though  not  formally  enrolled 
either  as  legionaries  or  auxilia.  The  position  of  the 
Goths  during  this  important  but  uneventful  century, 
with  the  approximate  situations  at  the  same  epoch, 
about  300  A.D.,  of  others  of  the  more  important 
Teutonic  peoples,  is  indicated  on  Map  F.  The 
result  of  this  was  that  when  the  long  expected  but 
long  deferred  event,  the  capture  of  Rome  by  a  bar- 
barian army,  actually  took  place,  and  the  Visigoths 
made  themselves  masters  of  the  eternal  city,  they 
entered  it  as  Christians,  and  under  the  leadership  of 

68 


THE  GOTHS  AND  ROME 


one  who  had  himself  fought  under  the  banner  of  the 
Emperor  Theodosius.  F 

The  mental  attitude 
of  the  more  cultured 
and  intelligent  of  the 
barbarians  towards  the 
older  civilization  is  well 
illustrated  by  some  of- 
ten quoted  words  of  one 
of  the  ablest  of  the  bar- 
barian leaders,  Athaulf,  ^^^°P^'  3oo  a.d. 
or  as  we  should  say  ''Adolf/'  the  brother-in-law  and 
successor  in  the  Visigothic  kingship  of  Alaric  the 
conqueror  of  Rome.  The  historian  Orosius  tells 
us  that  when  he  was  with  St.  Jerome  at  Bethlehem 
he  heard  a  citizen  of  Narbonne  who  had  been  well 
acquainted  with  Athaulf,  repeat  to  the  saint  expres- 
sions he  had  heard  the  Visigoth  use  in  regard  to  his 
own  attitude  towards  the  older  Roman  civilization. 
He  had  at  first  desired  to  obliterate  utterly  the 
Roman  name  and  bring  under  the  sway  of  the  Goths 
all  that  had  once  belonged  to  the  Romans,  so  that 
Romania  should  become  Gothia,  and  where  once 
there  had  been  Caesar  Augustus  there  now  should 
be  Athaulf.  But  warned  by  long  experience  of  the 
unbridled  savagery  of  the  Goths,  and  fearful  of  de- 

69 


MIGRATIONS  AND  SETTLEMENTS 


priving  the  commonwealth  of  those  laws  without 
which  it  could  not  be  a  state  at  all,  he  had  come  to 
desire  the  glory  of  restoring  anew  and  exalting  the 
Roman  name  through  the  vigour  and  strength  of 
the  Goths,  so  that  he  should  be  known  to  posterity 
as  the  author  of  the  restitution  of  Rome,  since  fate 
had  not  given  it  to  him  to  be  her  remover. 

The  attempt  to  found  a  Gothic  empire  with  a 
retention  of  Roman  traditions  was  tried  first  not  in 
Italy  but  in  Gaul,  whither  the  Visigoths  passed  on 
after  the  death  of  Alaric  in  southern  Italy  in  the 
year  410.  Athaulf  and  his  immediate  successors 
made  themselves  masters  of  south-western  Gaul 
and  of  a  large  part  of  Spain,  and  in  418  the  Gothic 
Kingdom  of  Toulouse,  so-called  after  its  capital,  was 
formally  established.  The  Goths  appropriated  two- 
thirds  of  the  land  and  agricultural  plant  of  the  pro- 
vince,and  weresubjectto  their  own  laws,  but  their  re- 
lation to  the  Empire  was  that  of  the  older  foeder- 
ati,''  and  they  bound  themselves  to  assist  the  Ro- 
mans in  military  operations.  It  was  in  accordance 
with  this  understanding  that  the  Visigothic  King 
Theodoric  joined  his  forces  with  those  of  the  im- 
perial representative  Aetius  to  oppose  the  Huns 
upon  the  plain  of  Troyes  in  451.  The  kingdom 
of  Toulouse  lasted  with  varying  fortunes  till  507 

70 


VISIGOTHIC  REMAINS 


when  the  Goths  were  attacked  by  Clovis  at  the 
head  of  the  Salian  Franks,  and  their  power  was 
completely  broken.  From  this  time  onward  they 
only  held  in  Gaul  a  strip  of  territory  along  the 
southern  coast  and  by  the  Pyrenees,  and  the  centre 
of  their  power  was  shifted  to  Spain,  where  the  Visi- 
gothic  kingdom  of  Toledo  survived  till  the  advent 
of  the  Moors  in  711  a.d. 

It  follows  from  this  brief  account  of  the  Visigoths, 
that  we  should  naturally  look  for  their  remains  first 
of  all  in  Hungary  and  Rumania  where  they  passed 
a  tranquil  hundred  years,  and  next  in  Spain  and 
the  south  of  France  which  they  held  for  some 
centuries.  With  the  Balkan  peninsula,  Italy,  and 
western  France,  their  contact  was  rather  of  apassing 
kind,  and  they  were  succeeded  in  each  region  by 
other  Teutonic  peoples.  Hence  though  the  treasure 
of  Petrossa  and  the  votive  crowns  found  near  Toledo 
in  Spain  may  be  confidently  accepted  as  Visigothic, 
the  products  of  the  cemetery  at  Herpes  on  the 
Charente  in  western  France,  where  this  people 
were  succeeded  in  507  by  the  Franks,  are  of  less 
assured  provenance. 

For  the  exciting  cause  of  the  Visigothic  invasion 
of  Italy  and  the  West  we  must  go  back  to  about  the 
year  376  a.d.,  when  the  Huns  pressed  in  from  the 

71 


MIGRATIONS  AND  SETTLEMENTS 


Movements  of  the  Huns  to  time 
of  Attila,  c.  376-450  A.D. 


east  upon  the  Gothic  peoples  then  settled  in  southern 
Russia  and  in  Hungary.   The  Visigoths  weredriven 
Q  across  the  Danube,  see 

Maps  G  and  H,  and 
after  raiding  the  Balkan 
peninsula  and  defeat- 
ing in  378  the  legions 
of  the  Emperor  Valens 
at  Hadrianople,  began 
those  marches  towards 
A  the  west  which  landed 
them  in  Rome  in  the 
eventful  year  a.d.  410. 
Map  I  gives  their  subsequent  movements,  at  which 
we  have  already  glanced. 

Meanwhile  the  impact 
of  the  Huns  had  driven 
the  Ostrogoths  into  the 
interior,  and  for  the  next 
three-quarters  of  a  cen- 
tury most  of  them  remain- 
ed in  subjection  to  their 
Mongfolian  conquerors, 

•1    r      ^1-    J      1     TA    The  Visigoths  (I.)  to  Alaric's  First 

until  alter  the  death  ot  At-     invasion  of  Italy,  400  a.d. 
tila  in  452,  when  with  the  rest  of  the  tributary  Ger- 
mans they  shook  themselves  free  of  the  odious  des- 

72 


THE  OSTROGOTHS 


potism.  How  completely  during  this  time  they  were 
under  the  domination  of  the  Huns  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  they  formed 
part  of  the  vast  host  of 
Attila  in  his  invasion  of 
Gaul  in  451,  and  stood 
opposed  in  the  great  bat- 
tle to  their  own  kinsmen 
the  Visigoths,  who  were 
fighting  on  the  side  of 
the  Romans.  The  Ostro-        visigothic  Kingdoms  (ii.). 

Rome  taken  410.    V.G.  m  Gaul 

goths  reappear  in  Ro-  and  Spain  to  711. 

manized  lands  in  the  latter  part  of  the  fifth  century, 

and  after  a  period  of  tur- 
bulence and  wandering 
in  the  Balkan  peninsula, 
they  march  under  the 
command  of  their  great 
leader  Theodoric  over 
the  Julian  Alps  into  It- 
aly, of  which  Theodoric 
makes  himself  master 
in  496. 

The  Map  J  shows  at 


Europe,  c.  496  a.D.  Beginning 
of  Theodoric's  Reign. 


this  time  that  Roman  rule  had  practically  disappear- 
ed from  all  the  regions  west  of  Illyria.   The  Ostro- 

73 


MIGRATIONS  AND  SETTLEMENTS 


goths  under  Theodoric  held  Italy  and  the  Illyrian 
provinces  up  to  the  Danube,  while  the  Visigoths 
bore  rule  in  south-western  Gaul  and  in  Spain.  The 
Franks  under  Clovis,  were,  as  we  shall  see  later  on, 
beginning  to  extend  their  conquests  from  their  ori- 
ginal seats  in  north-eastern  France,  and  between 
Frank  and  Goth  intervened  the  Burgundians  and 
Alemanni,  whose  history  will  subsequently  be  fol- 
lowed. The  Vandals  were  in  northern  Africa  and 
the  Mediterranean  islands,  whither  we  must  pre- 
sently trace  their  adventurous  course. 

Theodoric's  rule  in  Italy  is  too  notable  a  political 
event  for  it  to  be  necessary  to  do  more  than  refer 
to  it  in  this  place.  For  a  time  he  actually  carried 
into  effect  the  ideal  scheme  of  the  earlier  statesman 
Athaulf,  and  had  ''restored  anew  and  exalted  the 
Roman  name  through  the  vigour  and  strength  of 
the  Goths,"  and  the  years  of  his  rule  at  Ravenna 
are  the  most  glorious  in  all  the  migration  period. 
The  fact  that  he  could  not  bequeath  his  power  to 
a  worthy  successor  was  a  tragic  mishap,  both  for 
the  Goths  and  perhaps  for  Europe  at  large.  The 
reconquest  of  Italy  by  the  forces  of  the  eastern 
Empire  under  Belisarius  and  Narses,  and  the  total 
extinction  of  the  noble  Ostrogothic  name,  are 
familiar  matters  of  history. 

74 


OSTROGOTHIC  ART 

The  artistic  importance  of  the  Ostrogoths  can 
hardly  be  overestimated.  It  resides  first  of  all  in 
the  fact  of  their  residence  for  two  hundred  years  in 
southern  Russia,  in  contact  alike  with  the  Greek 
and  Romanized-Greek  civilizations  of  the  northern 
shores  of  the  Black  Sea,  and,  what  is  of  equal  im- 
portance, with  the  seats  of  still  older  civilizations 
towards  the  east.  According  to  the  view  taken  in 
this  book,  this  region  is  the  cradle  of  early  Teu- 
tonic art,  and  the  Germanic  impress  was  first  stamp- 
ed upon  the  artistic  products  of  the  migration  period 
by  the  craftsmen  of  this  race  and  region.  How 
much  in  the  resultant  products  was  of  classical,  how 
much  of  oriental,  how  much  of  Scythian/'  how 
much  of  native  Teutonic  origin,  it  may  be  possible 
to  determine  to  some  extent  as  we  proceed.  For 
the  moment  it  is  sufficient  to  indicate  here  the  con- 
viction that  the  commingling  of  elements  and  of  in- 
fluence, which  ultimately  produced  Teutonic  art, 
was  largely  accomplished  in  this  Ostrogothic  region 
in  the  period  preceding  the  movement  westward  of 
the  Huns  about  a.d.  376. 

Teutonic  products  which  come  to  light  in  this 
region  have  a  good  claim  to  an  Ostrogothic  origin, 
but  we  must  always  bear  in  mind  (see postea,  p.  10 1) 
that  these  products  need  not  all  be  supposed  to  date 

75 


MIGRATIONS  AND  SETTLEMENTS 


from  the  fourth  century,  for  a  remnant  of  the  Goths 
remained  for  centuries  in  southern  Russia  and  in  the 
Crimea,  just  as  Goths  abode,  and  we  may  say  still 
abide,  in  parts  of  the  Scandinavian  peninsula  and 
islands,  after  the  main  body  had  started  on  their 
southward  progress  at  the  beginning  of  Gothic  his- 
tory. It  is  moreover  at  the  present  hour  a  strong- 
ly maintained  theory  of  the  origin  of  the  Runic  sys- 
tem of  writing  that  it  was  invented  by  the  Goths 
in  southern  Russia  during  the  early  period  of  their 
residence  in  that  locality.  The  Runic  characters 
are  derived  from  the  letters  of  the  Greco- Roman 
alphabet,  with  considerable  changes  that  are  for  the 
most  part  conditioned  by  the  fact  that  the  Runic 
characters  were  intended  to  be  cut  in  wood.  One 
of  the  earliest  known  inscriptions  is  that  referred  to, 
ante,  p.  25,  as  occurring  on  a  golden  necklet  in  the 
treasure  from  Petrossa,  which  is  probably  of  Gothic 
origin  and  of  the  fourth  century.  The  inscription 
has  now  been  mutilated,  and  the  exact  interpreta- 
tion is  uncertain.  According  to  this  theory  the 
Runes  were  transmitted  to  the  north  by  the  easy 
and  open  route  at  the  back  of  the  Carpathians  by 
which  the  Goths  themselves  had  effected  their  south- 
ward migration.  From  the  north  they  were  carried 
over  into  Britain  by  the  Anglian  invaders,  and  are 

76 


RUNIC  WRITING 

there  very  abundant.  They  are  on  the  other  hand 
not  much  used  among  the  southern  Germans,  the 
explanation  being  found  in  the  fact  that,  in  the  fourth 
century,  the  Visigothic  bishop  Ulfilas  evolved  a 
Gothic  alphabet,  much  more  classical  than  the  Runic 
forms,  in  which  he  wrote  down  his  famous  transla- 
tion of  the  Scriptures,  parts  of  which  have  come 
down  to  us.  The  existence  of  this  alphabet  would 
naturally,  it  is  argued,  interfere  with  the  spread  of 
the  Runes  from  southern  Russia  along  the  Danube 
and  the  Rhine.  Southern  Runes  are  however 
found,  as  on  a  well-known  Burgundian  fibula  from 
Charnay  in  the  Museum  of  St.  Germain,  shown  in 
figs.  55-6  on  plate  xiv.  The  Runic  system  of  writ- 
ing is  accordingly  to  be  regarded  as  a  common  pos- 
session of  the  Germanic  race,  and  in  this  respect  it 
resembles  the  forms  of  Teutonic  art,  which,  varying 
in  different  localities  as  do  the  Runes,  exhibit  yet 
a  distinctive  Germanic  character. 

The  residence  of  the  Ostrogoths  in  Italy  during 
the  first  half  of  the  sixth  century  of  our  era  produced 
notable  artistic  results.  There  is  monumental  evi- 
dence of  their  activity  as  we  have  already  noted 
{ante,  p.  16)  at  Ravenna,  while  there  and  in  other 
parts  beautiful  objects  of  decorative  art  have  from 
time  to  time  been  exhumed  that  can  be  distinguish- 

77 


MIGRATIONS  AND  SETTLEMENTS 


ed  by  their  style  from  the  later  products  of  Lom- 
bard craftsmen  and  can  fairly  be  assigned  to  the 

countrymen  and  even 
to  the  circle  of  Theo- 
doric. 

The  next  map  of  the 
series,  K,  exhibits  the 
movements  of  the  im- 
portant race  of  the  Van- 
dals. In  the  first  cen- 
tury of  the  Christian 
era  they  appear  to  have 
been  a  predominant  people  in  that  part  of  the  great 
northern  plain,  beyond  the  line  of  mountains  stretch- 
ing from  the  Carpathians  to  the  Harz,  which  lies 
between  the  upper  courses  of  the  Vistula  and  the 
Oder.  Their  presence  there  led  to  the  name  Van- 
dalici  Montes,"  being  applied  by  the  Romans  to 
what  we  know  as  the  Riesengebirge,  and  some 
archaeologists  believe  that  they  were  responsible  at 
a  later  date  for  the  beautiful  gold  ornaments  found 
at  Sackrau  in  Silesia  that  are  one  of  the  glories  of 
the  Museum  at  Breslau.  An  obscure  period  in  their 
history,  during  which  they  seem  to  have  received 
Christianity,  of  course  in  its  Arian  form,  possibly 
through  the  medium  of  the  Ostrogoths,  is  termin- 

78 


K 


The  Vandal  Invasion. 


THE  VANDALS 


ated  by  the  beginning  of  a  tremendous  movement, 
one  of  the  greatest  in  the  period,  which  from  406 
to  428  A.D.  carried  them  from  Pannonia  down  the 
valley  of  the  Rhine,  through  Gaul  and  into  Spain, 
and  finally  across  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar  into  north- 
ern Africa.  There  under  the  long  rule  of  their  extra- 
ordinarily able  monarch  Gaiseric  they  established 
a  flourishing  realm,  and  turning  their  attention  to 
the  sea  embarked  upon  piratical  voyages  in  which 
they  explored  and  plundered  the  Mediterranean 
coasts.  Their  kingdom  was  demolished  by  Beli- 
sarius  in  534  in  connection  with  his  reconquest  of 
Italy  from  the  Goths. 

Teutonic  works  of  art  found  in  Africa  may  fairly 
claim  a  Vandal  origin  and  such  are  to  be  seen  both 
in  the  British  Museum  and  in  that  of  St.  Germain. 
Sporadic  finds  of  the  same  kind  on  the  coasts  of 
the  eastern  Mediterranean  and  in  Egypt  may  have 
the  same  provenance.  In  certain  branches  of  crafts- 
manship, such  as  iron  work,  the  people  were  highly 
esteemed. 

The  Vandals  possessed  neither  the  nobility  nor 
the  culture  of  the  Goths,  and  were  in  evil  odour 
for  their  cruelty.  They  are  described  as  subtle- 
witted  and  greedy  of  gain,  fond  of  dainty  living 
and  less  warlike  than  the  Goths,  but  of  chaste  lives. 

79 


MIGRATIONS  AND  SETTLEMENTS 


Their  proverbial  repute  as  destroyers  seems  to 
be  due  to  the  fact  that  when  in  Africa  they  carried 
their  Arian  prejudices  so  far  as  to  persecute  cruelly 
their  Catholic  fellow-Christians.  The  Catholics 
obtained  the  ear  of  posterity  and  the  fame  of  the 
Vandals  has  accordingly  suffered  ever  since.  Their 
march  through  Gaul  and  into  Spain  was  however  of  a 
devastating  kind,  and  of  this  there  are  two  rather 
striking  indications.  There  is  a  certain  Gallo- 
Roman  cemetery  at  Vermand  in  north-eastern 
France,  in  which  a  succession  of  periods  can  be 
pretty  clearly  traced  up  to  about  the  year  of  the 
Vandal  invasion  when  the  history  of  the  place 
abruptly  closes.  Again,  with  regard  to  the  south- 
western part  of  the  same  country,  there  is  a  curious 
statement  in  the  Confession  of  St.  Patrick,  accord- 
ing to  which  he  and  a  ship-load  of  companions 
landed  on  the  Gallic  coast  about  the  second  decade  of 
the  fifth  century  and  for  the  space  of  twenty-eight 
days' journey  found  the  land  a  desert.  Considering 
the  flourishing  condition  of  Gaul  in  late  Roman  times 
this  fact  is  of  most  sinister  significance. 

In  Spain,  whither  they  were  accompanied  by 
other  tribes,  such  as  a  section  of  the  old  race  of 
the  Suevi,  they  met  the  Visigoths,  and  devastating 
struggles  followed  from  which  the  country  suffered 

80 


THE  ALEMANNI 


cruelly.  The  Suevi  remained  in  the  peninsula  and 
founded  in  the  north  of  what  is  now  Portugal  a  king- 
dom, of  which  Braga  was  the  capital,  that  endured 
for  a  century,  and  has  left  numismatic  traces.  A 
recent  paper  by  Senor  Pedro  A.  D'Azevedo  calls 
attention  to  the  German  element  in  the  local  nomen- 
clature of  this  region,  and  Portuguese  museums  con- 
tain examples  of  Teutonic  art.  The  authorities  on 
the  national  antiquities  do  not  however  believe  that 
any  special  Suevic  character,  as  distinct  from  what 
may  be  termed  * '  Visigothic, "  can  be  detected  in  these. 

The  Alemanni  have  no  very  distinctive  history 
such  as  that  of  the  Goths  or  the  Vandals,  but  are 
for  the  present  purpose  a  highly  important  people. 
We  possess  considerable  remains  of  their  art,  and  as 
they  came  into  very  close  contact  with  the  Romans 
we  hear  a  good  deal  about  them  from  classical 
writers.  The  name  ''All  men"  implies  that  the 
people  was  formed  out  of  a  number  of  different 
units,  and  in  this  there  is  a  resemblance  between 
them  and  the  Franks.  The  pre-history  of  the  Ale- 
manni is  uncertain,  but  they  are  mentioned  for  the 
first  time  under  this  name  in  the  year  213  a.d.,  and 
in  the  region  which  remains  throughout  the  whole 
later  period  the  scene  of  their  chief  activity.  This 
was  the  triangular  tract  of  country  of  which  Wur- 

81  6 


MIGRATIONS  AND  SETTLEMENTS 

temberg  is  the  centre,  that  has  been  already  noticed 
{ante,  p.  62)  as  opposite  a  break  in  the  main  line  of 
the  natural  defences  of  the  Rhine  and  the  Danube. 
This  vulnerable  part  of  the  frontier  had  been  de- 
fended for  more  than  three  hundred  miles  by  the 

Pfahlgraben,"  but  shortly  after  the  middle  of  the 
third  century  the  Alemanni  burst  the  barrier  which 
was  never  afterwardseffectively re-established.  The 
Romans  under  many  Emperors  from  Aurelian  to 
Gratian  waged  war  with  these  threatening  neigh- 
bours, and  the  campaigns  against  them  of  Julian  are 
well  described  by  Ammianus  Marcellinus.  Their 
power  was  ultimately  cut  short  by  the  extension  of 
that  of  the  Franks,  as  will  presently  be  noticed. 
They  were  Christianized  comparatively  late. 

The  fortunes  of  the  people,  who  engaged  in  no 
regular  migrations,  may  be  followed  on  maps  F, 
J,  N,  O,  and  P. 

Alemannic  cemeteries  are  to  be  found  in  some 
abundance  in  the  region  of  the  Black  Forest,  in 
Wiirtemberg,  western  Bavaria,  and  the  northern 
and  eastern  parts  of  Switzerland.  Recent  dis- 
coveries in  Alemannic  graves  at  Gammertingen, 
north  of  the  Lake  of  Constance,  have  been  published 
in  an  important  volume  by  Dr.  T.  W.  Grobbels 
entitled  Der  Reihengrdberfund  von  Gammertingen. 

82 


THE  BURGUNDIANS 


On  the  Bavarians  enough  has  been  said,  ante, 
p.  54. 

The  Burgundians  (see  Map  L)  were  near  neigh- 
bours of  the  Alemanni,  and  ultimately  suffered  ex- 
tinction like  that  people 
at  the  hands  of  the  all- 
devouring  Franks.  In 
earlier  days  however 
they  had  played  an  im- 
portant role  in  that  re- 
gion of  central  Europe 
to  a  part  of  which  their 
name  still  clings.  We 
find  them  approaching-  1      ^  a- 

^       Franks  and  Burgundians  at 

the  boundaries  of  the  accession  of  Clovis,  481. 
Empire  from  the  north-east  about  the  middle  of  the 
third  century  a.d.  and  occupying  the  lands  that  were 
vacated  by  the  Alemanni  when  they  broke  through 
the  Roman  Limes  between  the  Rhine  and  Danube. 
Involved  from  this  time  onwards  in  constant  hos- 
tilities with  the  Alemanni,  they  cultivated  friendly 
relations  with  the  Romans,  and  of  all  the  Teutonic 
peoples  they  were  least  often  engaged  in  actual 
conflictwiththerepresentatives  ofthe  Empire.  The 
Burgundians  appear  on  the  page  of  history  as  a 
genial  but  somewhat  boorish  people,  not  specially 

83 


MIGRATIONS  AND  SETTLEMENTS 


warlike  though  of  notable  bodily  prowess  {ante, 
p.  43).  In  artistic  matters  their  taste  was  pro- 
nounced, and  certain  objects,  especially  some  in 
which  religious  representations  are  prominent,  are 
of  an  unmistakably  Burgundian  character. 

At  the  time  when  the  great  Vandal  movement  of 
406  A.D.  was  in  progress,  a  movement  in  which  as 
we  have  seen  other  Teutonic  peoples  bore  a  part, 
the  Burgundians  seem  to  have  established  them- 
selves on  the  Rhine,  in  a  territory  of  which  Worms 
was  the  capital,  and  in  4x3  the  Romans  confirm 
them  in  their  possession  of  this  delectable  land. 
Here  they  received  Christianity,  at  first  apparently 
in  its  Catholic  form,  though  afterwards  they  adopted 
the  prevailing  Arian  creed  of  their  Teutonic  kins- 
folk. The  sojourn  of  the  Burgundians  in  the  terri- 
tory round  Worms  is  of  literary  moment,  as  the  his- 
torical portion  of  the  Nibelungenlied\i2.s  this  for  its 
scene  and  Burgundians  for  its  protagonists.  The 
catastrophe  of  the  epic,  the  destruction  of  the  Bur- 
gundian heroes  at  the  hands  of  the  Huns,  is  also 
historical,  as  the  Burgundian  residence  in  this  region 
was  brought  to  an  end  owing  to  a  military  disaster 
which  was  inflicted  on  them  by  this  very  people. 

In  437  A.D.,  Aetius,  the  Roman  administrator, 
pursuing  the  friendly  policy  traditional  in  that 

84 


BURGUNDIAN  HISTORY 


quarter,  transferred  the  remnant  of  the  Burgundians 
that  had  survived  the  Hunnish  disaster  to  the  dis- 
trict about  and  south  of  the  Lake  of  Geneva,  where 
they  settled  down  in  a  district  corresponding  to  the 
French-speaking  portion  of  Switzerland  and  Savoy 
as  far  south  as  Grenoble.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact 
that  the  division  at  this  time  between  Burgundian 
and  Alemannic  territories  corresponds  to  the  ex- 
isting line  of  demarcation  between  the  French-  and 
German-speaking  Swiss.  The  Burgundians,  true 
to  their  philo- Roman  disposition,  suffered  their  lan- 
guage to  assume  a  Romance  character,  while  the 
Alemanni,  a  ruder,  more  primitive  people,  preserved 
their  native  Teutonism  and,  as  the  name  ''Alle- 
magne  implies,  came  to  represent  in  the  eyes  of 
their  more  Romanized  neighbours  in  the  ancient 
Gaul  all  that  was  typically  German. 

From  this  comparatively  small  territory  the  Bur- 
gundians spread  westwards  till  they  possessed  Lyons 
and  the  valley  of  the  Rhone  down  about  as  far  as 
Avignon  and  up  to  Auvergne  and  the  upper  waters 
of  the  Loire.  Their  position  at  the  time  is  indicated 
on  Map  J.  They  were  naturally  brought  into  close 
political  relations  with  their  two  most  powerful  neigh- 
bours, the  Goths  to  the  south,  and  the  still  more  for- 
midable Franks  towards  the  north.  They  held  their 

85 


MIGRATIONS  AND  SETTLEMENTS 


own  for  a  considerable  time,  and  impressed  their 
own  artistic  character  on  the  products  found  in 
numerous  cemeteries  in  Switzerland,  Savoy,  and 
Burgundy. 

It  will  be  convenient  to  refer  here  to  the  Map 
M,  which  gives  some  of  the  data  about  the  early  his- 
tory of  the  Lombards. 
The  reconquest  of  I  taly, 
and  the  renewed  esta- 
blishment there  of  Ro- 
man sovereignty  on  the 
ruins  of  the  Ostrogothic 
power,  was  accomplish- 
ed by  about  the  middle 
of  the  sixth  century,  but 

The  Lombard  Migrations.  j^^^g  ^f^^^  ^^^^^  j^^ 

the  year  568  a.d.,  Italy  was  entered  by  another 
swarm  of  barbaric  invaders  who  gradually  made 
themselves  masters  of  the  greater  part  of  the  penin- 
sula, which  they  held  for  two  hundred  years.  These 
were  the  Lombards,  the  so-called  Lango-bardi.'' 
Theequation  Langobardi  =  Longbeardssoundsvery 
like  a  piece  of  popular  etymology,  and  the  true  name 
of  the  people  was  in  all  probability  really  Bardi." 
They  seem  like  the  Goths  to  have  come  originally 
from  the  Scandinavian  peninsula,  but  we  first  hear  of 

86 


THE  LOMBARDS 


them  in  the  district  on  the  Lower  Elbe,  not  far  from 
Liineburg,  that  was  for  long  called  after  their  name 

Bardengau."  There  were  certain  striking  affin- 
ities, in  dress  and  other  respects,  observed  between 
the  Lombards  and  the  Anglo-Saxons,  which  may 
have  been  due  to  local  contiguity  in  these  early 
times,  though  the  two  are  reckoned  by  some  to  be- 
long to  the  same  branch  ofthe  German  race.  Moving 
up  the  Elbe  they  seem  to  have  taken  some  part  in 
the  Marcomannic  war  in  the  time  of  Marcus  Aure- 
lius,  but  after  this  we  lose  sight  of  them  for  a  long 
period  of  time.  At  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century 
they  were  in  occupation  of  part  of  what  is  now 
Hungary,  and  thence  under  their  chieftain  Alboin 
they  effected  their  eventful  march  over  the  Julian 
Alps  into  Italy. 

The  Lombards  present  themselves,  or  are  pre- 
sented by  their  ecclesiastical  opponents,  in  an  un- 
attractive light.    Velleius  Paterculus  calls  them 

Langobardi,  gens  etiam  Germana  ferocitate  fero- 
cior,''  and  the  modern  historian  of  Italy  and  her 
Invaders"  christens  them  ''the  Anarchists  of  the 
Volkerwanderung.''  They  were  Arians  at  the  time 
of  the  invasion,  but  were  recognized  as  Catholics  at 
the  end  of  the  sixth  century.  After  they  had  settled 
down  in  Italy,  not  in  sole  possession  but  in  certain 

87 


MIGRATIONS  AND  SETTLEMENTS 


great  duchies  divided  by  parts  of  the  country  still 
in  nominal  subjection  to  the, eastern  Empire,  there 
was  considerable  friction  between  them  and  the 
ecclesiastical  authorities  at  Rome.  They  were  how- 
ever in  a  way  religious,  as  may  be  judged  by  the 
gold  crosses  sewn  on  their  grave  clothes  [postea^ 
p.  149),  and  they  were  great  builders  of  churches. 
The  remains  found  in  their  cemeteries  belong  to  a 
comparatively  late  division  of  our  period,  the  seventh 
and  eighth  centuries,  and  are  not  in  artistic  quality 
so  fine  as  the  earlier  Gothic  productions.  They  in- 
clude however  certain  distinctive  kinds  of  fibulae, 
well  represented  in  the  Museum  at  Trento,  and 
special  objects  like  the  gold  crosses  and  ornamented 
shield  umbos  {postea,  p.  128),  so  that  artistic  origin- 
ality cannot  be  denied  to  them.  From  what  we 
hear  of  them  in  these  more  primitive  times,  it  is 
difficult  to  realize  that  later  on  their  stock  was  to 
produce  some  of  the  greatest  thinkers,  writers,  and 
artists  of  the  medieval  world. 

The  last  remark  may  be  applied  in  a  modified 
form  to  the  last  of  thegreat  divisions  of  the  Teutonic 
name,  the  Franks.  The  Franks  had  a  bad  reputa- 
tion for  the  rather  un-Teutonic  quality  of  faithless- 
ness ;  Clovis,  the  founder  of  their  empire,  was  one 
of  the  greatest  criminals  on  a  large  scale  known  to 

88 


THE  SALIAN  FRANKS 

history ;  while  there  are  few  family  annals  more 
deeply  infected  with  perfidy,  vice,  and  bloodshed 
than  those  of  the  royal  race  of  the  Salian  Franks, 
the  Merwings.  Yet  the  Franks  became  in  time  the 
dominant  Teutonic  race  of  the  Continent,  absorbing 
one  after  another  most  of  the  other  Germanic  king- 
doms, while  the  vast  dominions  thus  formed  were 
consolidated  and  administered  by  the  genius  of  the 
hero  who,  despite  his  faults,  presents  in  an  ideal 
form  all  the  greatest  qualities  of  the  Teutonic  race, 
Charles  of  Aachen  and  of  Rome. 

Charles  however  was  a  Ripuarian  and  not  a  Sal- 
ian Frank.  It  is  the  Salians  who  come  forward 
first  upon  the  stage  of  history.  Somethinghas  been 
already  said  about  the  beginnings  of  the  people 
{ante,  p.  54),  and  we  may  take  our  start  now  with 
the  accession  of  Clovis  on  the  death  of  his  father 
Childeric  in  481  a.d.  Childeric's  capital  was  Tour- 
nay  in  Belgium,  and  this  shows  that  up  to  that 
time  the  Franks  were  confined  to  their  seats  on  the 
Rhine,  Meuse  and  Scheldt,  where  as  we  shall  see 
postea,  p.  102,  they  have  left  so  many  artistic  traces 
of  their  former  presence.  The  great  extension  of 
the  Frankish  power  was  the  work  of  Clovis,  and  he 
was  mightily  assisted  along  his  blood-stained  path 
by  the  fact  that  he  joined  the  Catholic  party  on  his 

89 


MIGRATIONS  AND  SETTLEMENTS 


conversion  and  enjoyed  the  advantage  of  its  back- 
ing. 

It  is  no  part  of  the  purpose  in  view  to  sketch  the 
political  history  of  the  Franks  and  their  somewhat 
complicated  relations  with  the  Burgundians  and 
their  other  neighbours.  There  must  not  however 
be  passed  over  in  silence  the  name  of  Theudebert, 
a  grandson  of  Clovis,  a  young  prince  of  the  most 
brilliant  promise,  whose  early  death  in  548  a.d.  put 
a  stop  to  a  vast  project  he  had  formed  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  Lombards  and  Gepidae  of  an  attack 
on  the  Byzantine  Empire,  an  enterprise  that  might 
have  profoundly  affected  European  history.  As  it 
was,  he  struck  his  contemporaries  with  something 
like  awe  when  he  called  himself  ''Augustus,"  and  is- 
sued a  gold  coinage  with  his  own  name  and  likeness. 

The  gradual  extension  of  the  Frankish  domains 
can  be  followed  on  the  Maps  L,  J,  O,  P,  R.  L  shows 
the  position  of  the  two  branches  of  the  people  at 
the  time  of  the  death  of  Childeric  and  accession  of 
Clovis,  and  N  the  relative  situations  at  the  same  date 
of  all  the  other  Teutonic  peoples  whose  fortunes  we 
have  been  following.  It  is  impossible  of  course  to 
arrange  these  maps  in  a  strictly  chronological  series 
and  in  N  we  see  the  Ostrogoths  only  advancing 
through  lUyria  towards  the  conquest  of  the  still 

90 


CONQUESTS  OF  CLOVIS 


Roman  lands  south  of  the  Alps  and  the  Danube, 
while  a  portion  of  nor- 
thern Gaul  with  its 
capital  Soissons  is  still 
Roman,  under  the  vice- 
regal rule  of  Syagrius. 
The  conquest  of  this 
domain  was  the  first 
achievement  of  the 
career  of  Clovis  and 

the    result    has    been    The  V^est,  c.  485  a.d.  Accession 

shown  on  Map  J.  The  of  ciovis,  481. 

sensitive  religious  conscience  of  Clovis  was  scanda- 
O  lized  by  the  idea  that 

Arian  Goths  should  hold 
a  large  part  of  Gaul,  and 
he  accordingly  attacked 
and  conquered  the  Visi- 
gothic  kingdom  of  Tou- 
louse in  507  A.D.,  thus 
extending  his  domin- 
ions to  the  limits  shown 

Frankish  Domains,  c.  510,  after  Map  O.     The  Bur^ 

conquest  of  Visigoths,  507.  gundians  and  Alemanni 
still  figure  on  the  map  as  independent  units,  but  in 
the  last  half  of  the  century  the  waves  of  Frankish 

91 


MIGRATIONS  AND  SETTLEMENTS 


The  Frankish  Domains,  561,  at 
death  of  Chlothar. 


conquest  closed  over  these,  as  over  the  Bavarians 

  P  further  to  the  east,  while 

by  this  time  again,  south 
of  the  Alps,  the  Roman 
power  had  been  re-esta- 
blished after  the  extinc- 
tion of  the  Ostrogothic 
and  Vandalic  nam.es 
(Map  P). 

After  the  Lombard 
invasion  of  Italy  large 
parts  of  the  lands  round 
the  western  basin  of  the  Mediterranean  still  remain- 
ed nominally  Roman  q 
and  this  condition  of 
affairs  is  exhibited  in 
Map  Q.  Meanwhile 
great  changes  were  in 
preparation,  affecting 
the  areas  to  the  east 
and  to  the  west  of  the 
Frankish  domains,  and 
the  southern  Mediter- 
ranean  coasts.     From  The  Lombards  in  Italy,  c,  568-774  A.D. 

the  east  the  Bulgarians  and  Avars  as  well  as  the 
older  Slavs  press  in  and  oppose  the  further  exten- 

92 


EMPIRE  OF  CHARLES 

sion  in  that  direction  of  Prankish  rule,  while  from 
the  south-east  to  the  north-west  of  the  southern 
Mediterranean  lands  sweeps  the  irresistible  tide  of 
Muslim  invasion.  The  consequences  were  most 
serious  for  the  Romans  and  the  Visigoths.  The 
former  lost  their  recently  recovered  province  of 
Africa  and  the  latter  were  driven  by  the  victorious 
Moors  after  71 1  a.d.  into  the  extreme  north-eastern 
portion  of  the  Spanish  peninsula,  while  in  720  they 
finally  lost  to  the  Franks  the  district  of  Septimania 
along  the  Mediterranean  coast,  which  had  remained 
to  them  from  their  once  extensive  Gallic  empire. 
When  Charles  the  Great  consolidated  his  domin- 
ions, these  were  bounded  at  the  Pyrenees  by  those 
of  the  Caliphate  of  Cordova,  and  to  the  east  extend- 
ed about  as  far  as  the  ancient  Pannonia.  To  the 
north  Charles  subdued  after  a  fierce  resistance  the 
hitherto  pagan  Saxons  of  the  Continent,  and  by  the 
vigour  of  the  forced  conversions  to  Christianity  that 
marked  his  victorious  footsteps  he  may  have  in- 
directly inspired,  as  a  sort  of  pagan  reaction,  the  Vi- 
king descents  of  the  succeeding  epoch.  Southwards 
in  744  A.D.  he  completed  the  conquest  of  the  Lom- 
bards and  brought  the  greater  part  of  Italy  under 
his  sceptre.  Map  R  exhibits  the  full  extent  of  the 
Prankish  dominions  at  his  death  in  a.d.  814. 

93 


MIGRATIONS  AND  SETTLEMENTS 


From  the  artistic  point  of  view  it  should  be  borne 

in  mind  that  this  absorp- 
tion in  the  Prankish  em- 
pire of  the  domains  of 
the  Burgundians,  Ale- 
manni,  Lombards,  and 
the  rest,  did  not  neces- 
sarily involve  the  extinc- 
tion of  any  distinctive 
artistic  feeling  which 
^,   ^    , .  ,  ^    .       ,    ,    .  had  been  cultivated  in 

The  Frankish  Empire  at  death  of  . 

Charles  the  Great,  814.  the  hitherto  mdepend- 
ent regions.  It  is  true  that  these  distinctions  become 
less  marked  as  time  advances,  but  Lombard  art,  for 
example,  remains  Lombardic  even  after  the  Frank- 
ish conquest.  At  the  s 
same  time,  if  we  want  to 
know  what  is  specially 
or  exclusively  Burgun- 
dian,  Alemannic,  etc., 
it  is  well  to  judge  from 
obj ects  produced  during 
the  respective  periods 
of  independence,  and  on 
this  account  two  additional  maps,  S  and  T,  are  here 
appended  to  exhibit,  first  in  the  case  of  the  all-im- 

94 


CAROLINGIAN  ART 


portant  period  of  sojourn  of  the  Goths  in  Eastern 
Europe,  and  next  in  the 
West  as  a  whole,  those 
periods  and  of  localities 
where  the  art  of  the  dif- 
ferent peoples  is  likely 
to  be  represented  in  its 
most  characteristic  as- 
pects. 

The  above  account 
of  the  Teutonic  migra- 
tions and  settlements  does  not  include  any  notice 
of  those  of  the  Angles,  Saxons,  and  other  tribes 
that  made  themselves  masters  of  Britain.  These 
movements  were  apart  from  the  general  course  of 
the  migrations  affecting  Europe  as  a  whole,  and 
they  could  not  be  properly  discussed  without  open- 
ing up  controverted  questions  of  much  complexity, 
to  deal  with  which  is  not  possible  within  the  pre- 
sent limits  of  space.  The  view  taken  by  the  writer 
of  the  course  of  these  movements  is  indicated  on  a 
subsequent  page.    See  postea,  p.  182. 

A  word  on  the  art  called  "  Carolingian "  will 
conclude  this  already  somewhat  lengthy  chapter. 
This  was  a  style  of  art  centered  at  Charles'  court  and 
in  the  Rhineland  and  northern  Gaul  which  formed 

95 


MIGRATIONS  AND  SETTLEMENTS 


his  own  special  domain,  and  inspired  by  that  revived 
study  of  Roman  antiquity  which  was  so  pronounced 
a  feature  of  the  culture  he  inspired  or  favoured.  As 
Charles  had  recalled  to  life  the  form  of  the  Roman 
Empire  of  the  West,  so  he  strove  to  revive  the  ele- 
ments of  culture  which  existed  in  the  later  period  of 
that  Empire  before  it  yielded  to  the  pressure  of  the 
barbarians.  Charles,  who,  as  we  have  seen,  was  be- 
fore all  things  a  patriotic  German,  did  not  wish  to 
supersede  the  native  art,  but  aimed  at  a  synthesis 
between  it  and  the  older  classical  forms.  The  most 
important  result  was  the  re-introduction  of  conven- 
tional classical  foliage  founded  on  the  acanthus  orna- 
ment of  the  ancients,  and  wherever  this  occurs, 
as  it  does  to  a  slight  extent  on  the  Tassilo  Cup  of 
the  end  of  the  eighth  century,  it  is  a  sure  sign  of 
theinfluence  of  the  Carolingian  Renaissance.  The 
prevalence  from  this  time  forward  of  these  classical 
reminiscences  in  ornament,  together  with  a  corre- 
sponding improvement  in  figure  work  inspired  by 
late-classical  models,  marks  the  conclusion  of  the 
Teutonic  period  proper,  and  the  beginning  of  what 
is  known,  from  its  synthesis  of  classical  and  barbaric, 
as  Romanesque.  As  was  noted  before,  for  purely 
barbaric  work  we  must  from  this  time  onwards  turn 
to  the  still  pagan  Vikings  of  the  Scandinavian  North. 

96 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  GERMANIC  CEMETERY 

Location  and  general  arrangement  of  the  Cemetery.  Cremation 
and  Inhumation.  Orientation  and  Tomb  Furniture,  with  their 
bearing  on  questions  of  date.  Disposal  and  equipment  of  the 
body. 

Tacitus  tells  us  that  the  Germans  avoided  cities, 
and  even  contiguous  habitations,  settling  down  in 
detached  units  apart  from  each  other,  just  as  spring 
or  field  or  grove  offered  attractions.  This  state- 
ment has  been  brought  into  contrast  with  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  Teutonic  cemetery,  which  in  its 
extent  and  arrangements  seems  to  testify  to  a  strong 
social  instinct  that  at  any  rate  in  death  drew  these 
units  of  the  population  together.  Apart  however 
from  Tacitus,  our  evidence  shows  that  the  Teutons, 
though  as  Ammianus  Marcellinus  remarks,  averse  * 
from  the  life  of  towns,  settled  together  in  village 
communities,  some  of  the  best  surviving  types  of 

97  7 


GERMANIC  CEMETERIES 

which  are  found  in  our  own  country  and  along  the 
middle  Rhine.  To  these  communities  the  cemeteries 
correspond,  but  while  the  life  of  the  village  itself, 
in  many  parts  of  Teutonized  Europe,  has  continued 
without  any  serious  break  to  modern  times,  the 
history  of  the  village  burialplace  has  not  been  con- 
tinuous but  was  transformed  about  the  eighth  cen- 
tury through  the  influence  of  the  Church.  From 
that  time  onwards  the  cemetery  has  formed  the 
temenos  of  the  village  church  and  the  population 
has  dwelt  all  around  it,  while  in  the  earlier  pagan 
period  the  country  cemeteries  were  at  a  certain 
distance  from  the  habitations  of  the  living.  When 
the  churchyard  had  superseded  the  older  and  re- 
moter burialplaces,  these  passed  gradually  out  of 
memory,  and  have  no  history  until  quite  modern 
times,  when  they  have  been  rediscovered  as  archae- 
ological curiosities.  The  location  of  these  ceme- 
teries in  relation  to  the  natural  features  of  the 
country  and  to  the  distribution  of  the  population  ; 
their  number  ;  their  extent ;  the  arrangement  and 
orientation  of  the  graves  ;  the  forms  of  these  ;  the 
treatment  of  the  body  before  burial ;  the  disposal 
of  the  body  or  its  ashes  in  the  receptacle  prepared 
for  it ;  the  tomb  furniture  which  accompanied  it ; 
the  mark  or  monument,  if  any,  that  indicated  to 

98 


CEMETERY  PROBLEMS 


posterity  the  place  of  interment ;  the  indications, 
if  any,  in  connection  with  the  above  of  social  and 
other  distinctions  among  the  interred  ;  the  later 
history  of  the  cemeteries,  and  the  circumstances  of 
their  rediscovery  in  medieval  and  more  modern 
times — all  these  are  matters  that  repay  investigation, 
but  upon  which  it  would  be  easy  to  write  a  sub- 
stantial volume.  Hence  it  will  be  readily  under- 
stood that  any  systematic  treatment  of  the  subjects 
thus  marked  out  is  impossible,  and  all  that  can  be 
attempted  is  to  call  attention  to  some  archaeological 
points  connected  with  the  cemetery  that  are  of 
special  interest,  and  then  to  illustrate  by  a  series 
of  examples  the  various  items  of  Teutonic  Tomb 
Furniture. 

General  statements  are  sometimes  made  about 
Teutonic  cemeteries,  but  the  graveyards  are  so 
numerous  as  to  make  it  hazardous  to  go  beyond  the 
one  such  statement  already  made,  that  they  were  at 
a  certain  distance  from  the  habitations  of  the  living. 
Kemble,  and  after  him  Lindenschmit,  maintained 
that  where  the  natural  features  of  the  country  admit 
they  are  always  on  rising  ground.  This  generaliza- 
tion certainly  applies  to  a  good  part  of  south-eastern 
England,  and  it  is  strikingly  illustrated  by  the  recent 
discovery  of  a  Jutish  burialplace  on  the  height  of 

99 


GERMANIC  CEMETERIES 


the  down  north-east  of  Folkestone,  where  the  Dover 
road  goes  over  it.  The  situation  is  a  remarkable 
one,  asthe  cemetery  must  have  belonged  to  theearly 
Teutonic  settlement  in  the  hollow  far  below,  that  has 
now  become  Folkestone.  The  cemeteries,  in  situa- 
tions where  the  population  must  have  been  abun- 
dant, are  very  numerous, and  Lindenschmit  instances 
the  middle  Rhine  as  a  district  where  the  burial  fields 
*'are  so  surprisingly  abundant  that  almost  all  the 
villages  which,  with  slight  exceptions,  can  be  recog- 
nized as  very  ancient  settlements,  also  possess  their 
Frankish  cemeteries,  so  that  a  district  some  eight  or 
nine  miles  in  diameter  may  contain  from  eight  to 
ten  of  these.''  The  fertile  Pays  de  Vaud  in  Switzer- 
land, with  Savoy  as  far  south  as  the  I  sere,  is  lavish- 
ly sown  with  Burgundian  graveyards,  and  Jutish 
cemeteries  are  dotted  thickly  about  parts  of  Kent. 

How  numerous  are  the  known  cemeteries  may 
be  judged  from  the  fact  that  within  the  limits  of 
ancient  Gaul,  that  is,  France  with  Switzerland  and 
the  adjacent  parts  of  Germany,  M.  Barriere-Flavy 
has  amassed  a  list  of  about  2300  names.  In  extent 
they  vary  enormously.  A  single  interment  like  that 
in  the  tumulus  in  the  churchyard  at  Taplow,  Bucks, 
may  be  important  enough  to  rank  as  a  cemetery, 
^nd  from  this  minimum  the  number  of  graves  may 

100 


THEIR  DISTRIBUTION 


vary  up  to  a  total  such  as  that  reached  at  Keszthely 
in  Hungary,  by  the  Plattensee,  where  some  4500 
graves  have  been  opened.  The  following  are  statis- 
tics of  a  few  cemeteries  typical  of  the  regions  which 
best  represent  the  culture  of  the  different  Teutonic 
races,  those  that  have  been  most  scientifically  ex- 
plored receiving  the  preference. 

The  only  assured  Ostrogothic  cemeteries  known 
are  in  southern  Russia.  Elsewhere  the  finds  ascrib- 
able  to  this  race  have  come  to  light  in  sporadic  fashion. 
The  recently  opened  cemetery  at  Suuk-Su,  near 
Yalta  in  the  Crimea,  may  serve  as  an  example.  It 
should  be  noted  that  a  portion  of  the  Goths  remain- 
ed in  southern  Russia  after  the  migration  therefrom 
of  the  main  body,  and  remains  of  these  later  Goths 
are  found  in  cemeteries  such  as  those  at  Suuk-Su, 
Kertch,etc.  A  large  cemetery  with  some  900  graves 
at  H  erpes  on  the  Charente  in  western  France  is  claim- 
ed as  Visigothic,  but  the  region  became  Prankish  in 
507  A.D.,  and  more  assured  Visigothic  work  may  be 
recognized  in  the  finds  in  the  south  of  France  as  at 
Tressant,  Herault,near  Montpellier.  The  Burgun- 
dian  cemetery  at  Charnay  near  Chalon-sur-Saone 
furnished  many  hundreds  of  graves,  and  that  of  Bel- 
Air  near  Lausanne  300.  A  Lombard  cemetery  has 
been  recently  explored  at  Castel  Trosino,  near  As- 

101 


GERMANIC  CEMETERIES 

coli,  on  the  Adriatic,  and  offered  for  study  the  tomb 
furniture  of  240  graves.  There  are  Lombard  ceme- 
teries at  Cividale  and  other  places. 

Prankish  cemeteries  are  very  numerous.  The  Rip- 
uarian  section  is  well  represented  atSelzenin  Rhine- 
Hesse.  The  exploration  of  this  in  1845-6  by  the 
brothers  Lindenschmit  setan  example  for  the  scienti- 
fic treatment  of  these  relics  of  antiquity.  Twenty- 
eight  graves  were  reported  on. 

Cemeteries  of  the  Salian  Franks  are  abundant  in 
Belgium  and  north-eastern  France,  and  their  con- 
tents are  admirably  displayed  in  the  museum  at 
Namur.  Harmignies  near  Brussels  has  furnished 
a  fine  assortment  of  examples  to  the  museum  of 
that  capital.  The  museums  of  Boulogne  and  St. 
Quentin,  with  the  private  collections  of  MM.  Eck, 
Pilloy,  and  Boulanger,  contain  abundant  remains 
from  similar  cemeteries  in  north-eastern  France. 
All  these  collections  are  of  special  value  as  repre- 
senting an  early  stage  of  Frankish  culture,  when 
the  people  were  in  great  part  settled  on  the  lands 
as  Roman  coloni,  and  under  the  influence  of  the  pre- 
existing Gallo- Roman  civilization.  On  the  archae- 
ological questions  that  arise  out  of  this  situation 
M.  Pilloy,  of  St.  Quentin,  is  a  living  authority  of 
the  first  rank. 

102 


THEIR  DISTRIBUTION 


In  Normandy  the  principal  Prankish  sites  ex- 
amined by  the  Abbe  Cochet  yielded  from  450  to  1 50 
tombs  each. 

The  Alemannic  cemetery  at  Nordendorf,  in  what 
is  now  Bavaria,  gave  a  total  of  425  graves,  and 
further  to  the  east  the  Marcomannic  Bavarians  are 
represented  by  the  well-explored  field  of  Reichen- 
hall,  near  Salzburg,  with  its  525  graves. 

In  ourown  country  the  interpenetration  of  Angles 
and  Saxons  makes  it  sometimes  difficult  to  assign 
cemeteries  in  certain  regions  to  their  proper  occu- 
pants. There  is  no  doubt  that  the  Faussett  group 
of  cemeteries  between  Canterbury  and  the  coast, 
and  that  at  Chessell  Down  in  the  Isle  of  Wight, 
stand  for  the  Jutes.  The  700  tombs  reported  on  in 
Faussett's  Inventorium  Sepulchrale  produced  the 
magnificent  collection  now  in  the  museum  at  Liver- 
pool. The  West  Saxons  are  represented  at  any 
rate  by  the  majority  of  burials  in  the  cemeteries  at 
Fairford, Gloucestershire;  Long  Wittenham,  Berks; 
and  Harnham  Hill  by  Salisbury  ;  the  South  Sax- 
ons at  High  Down  near  Worthing  ;  the  East  Sax- 
ons at  Saffron  Walden  and  Ipswich ;  the  East 
Angles  at  Little  Wilbraham,  Cambridgeshire  ;  the 
Mercians  at  Stapenhill  near  Burton-on-Trent. 
Full  and  accurate  information  about  all  these  sites 

103 


GERMANIC  CEMETERIES 


and  their  yields  is  being  published  in  the  Victoria 
History  of  the  Counties  of  England,  by  Mr.  Reginald 
Smith,  and  other  writers. 

In  Hungary  the  cemeteries  of  the  period  are  very 
numerous,  and  have  been  fully  reported  on  in  Pro- 
fessor Hampel's  great  catalogue,  in  three  volumes, 
of  the  Antiquities  of  Hungary  in  the  early  medieval 
period.  The  ethnological  connections  of  all  these 
cemeteries  are  however  very  difficult  to  fix  satisfac- 
torily. The  Scandinavian  findshaveof  course  been 
amply  reviewed  in  the  mustergultig  "  publications 
of  Sophus  Muller,  Montelius,  Engelhardt,  Mestorf, 
etc.,  but  the  publications  on  the  north  German 
cemeteries  generally,  in  which  the  question  of  cre- 
mation and  inhumation  becomes  of  such  great  im- 
portance, are  rather  scattered,  and  the  subject  waits 
for  a  monograph  like  that  of  Hampeljustreferred  to. 

The  most  striking  difference  to  be  observed  when 
comparing  Teutonic  cemeteries  is  that  between  the 
cremation  cemetery  and  the  burial  ground  where 
the  body  is  laid  in  the  ground  unburnt,  and  there  is 
the  same  contrast  in  certain  cemeteriesboth  at  home 
and  abroad  between  parts  where  there  are  cremated 
burials  and  other  portions  where  inhumation  is  the 
rule.  It  would  be  travelling  far  beyond  the  limits 
of  this  volume  to  discuss  the  profoundly  interesting 

104 


CREMATION  AND  INHUMATION 

problem  of  the  general  relations,  both  in  idea  and 
in  history,  between  these  two  contrasted  methods  for 
the  disposal  of  the  body.  To  judge  from  Tacitus 
cremation  appears  to  have  been  general  among  the 
forefathers  of  the  Teutons  of  the  migration  period, 
but  the  cemeteries  of  the  period  itself,  with  which 
we  are  concerned,  are  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases 
inhumation  cemeteries,  though  in  many  instances 
there  remain  in  them  traces  of  cremation.  As  would 
be  expected,  cremation  is  more  largely  represented 
in  the  North,  the  original  seat  of  the  Teutonic 
peoples,  than  in  the  South,  residence  in  which  had 
brought  them  to  some  extent  under  Christian  in- 
fluence. There  is  the  classic  instance  adduced  long 
ago  by  Kemble  of  the  vast  northern  necropolis  on 
Liineburg  heath,  where  3000  cremated  bodies  were 
counted  with  only  traces  of  two  interments  of  the 
whole  corpse,  and  to  set  against  this  we  may  take 
the  fact  that,  among  the  4500  burials  at  Keszthely 
in  Hungary,  Hampel  only  reports  twelve  cases  of 
cremation,  while  the  more  recent  explorations  at 
Reichenhall  in  Bavaria  revealed  only  one  case  of 
complete  cremation  among  the  525  graves. 

At  Castel  Trosino  in  Italy  the  late  Lombardic 
cemetery  yielded  no  instance  of  cremation.  In 
many  cemeteries  there  is  evidence  found  of  partial 

los 


GERMANIC  CEMETERIES 

burning,  but  it  is  uncertain  whether  this  is  to  be 
always  regarded  as  evidence  of  the  survival  of  cre- 
mation practices,  or  as  due  to  other  causes,  such 
as  burial  at  night  time  by  the  light  of  wood  fires,  as 
has  been  suggested  by  the  explorer  of  the  cemetery 
last  referred  to.  In  our  own  country  the  pheno- 
mena are  the  same  in  little  that  we  find  on  a  larger 
scale  in  the  Teutonic  area  as  a  whole.  The  orthodox 
view  has  been  that  cremation  is  an  Anglian  custom 
but  not  a  custom  of  the  Saxons.  There  is  how- 
ever inhumation  as  well  as  burning  in  Anglian 
cemeteries  and  evidence  of  cremation  in  those  of 
southern  Britain,  so  that  Mr.  Chad  wick  has  re- 
cently expressed  the  opinion  that  there  is  after  all 
little  to  choose  between  the  customs  of  the  north- 
ern and  southern  divisions  of  our  Teutonic  con- 
querors. 

We  are  concerned  here  with  the  Teutonic  cemetery 
because  it  presents  to  us  examples  of  the  art  and 
craftsmanship  of  the  period  in  the  form  of  its  tomb 
furniture.  Such  tomb  furniture  is  of  far  less  im- 
portance in  the  case  of  cremated  burials  than  in 
those  of  the  other  kind,  for,  as  Sophus  Mtiller  has 
remarked,  the  prevalence  of  cremation  implies  a 
poverty  in  both  the  quantity  and  the  quality  of  the 
objects  laid  in  the  grave.    Hence  we  need  concern 

1 06 


PLATE  IV 


MEMORIALS  OVER  GRAVES 


ourselves  only  with  the  customs  accompanying  the 
burial  of  the  unburned  body. 

The  normal  inhumation  cemetery  of  the  Ger- 
mans of  the  migration  period,  that  is  the  normal 
early  Teutonic  cemetery  in  general,  is  curiously  like 
a  modern  cemetery  without  its  tombstones.  The 
tombstone,  very  much  in  its  modern  form,  occurs 
at  Mycenae,  and  in  its  origin  it  may  go  back  to  the 
prehistoric  standing  stone  or  Menhir.  Save  in  a  few 
instances,  for  the  most  part  inspired  by  Roman  ex- 
amples, the  Teutons  did  not  erect  stones  over  the 
resting  place  of  their  dead,  but  there  is  an  excep- 
tional and  very  interesting  tombstone  at  Canter- 
bury, found  near  Sandwich,  on  which  in  Runic 
characters  is  the  name  R^  H  ^  B  U  L  (fig.  13). 
In  some  cases  they  carried  on  into  the  migration 
period  the  older  Bronze  age  custom  of  marking  the 
place  of  interment  by  a  tumulus  of  earth.  In  the 
large  Jutish  cemetery  on  Kingston  Down,  near 
Canterbury,  Faussett  reported  that  he  found  260 
graves  under  tumuli  and  only  43  over  which  there 
was  no  trace  remaining  of  a  mound.  In  general 
however  no  external  mark  of  the  kind  is  now  to  be 
discerned  above  the  graves  of  our  Teutonic  fore- 
fathers, though  the  fact  that  as  a  rule  some  order, 
and  at  times  great  regularity,  is  observed  in  the 

107 


GERMANIC  CEMETERIES 


placing  of  the  graves,  seems  to  suggest  that  there 
was  originally  some  mark,  possibly  of  wood,  used 
to  indicate  the  position  of  each  interment.  When 
the  ground  is  opened  the  arrangement,  form,  size, 
and  average  depth  of  the  graves  are  remarkably 
like  what  we  are  accustomed  to  in  modern  times. 
Coffins,  occasionally  sarcophagi  or  rougher  cists  of 
stone,  but  more  often  shells  of  wood,  were  employed 
but  by  no  means  as  a  general  custom.  The  most 
interesting  sarcophagi  are  those  constructed  by  the 
Franks  of  the  district  round  Paris  of  slabs  of  plaster. 
They  are  to  be  seen  in  the  Musee  Carnavalet,  Paris 
(fig.  14).  The  best  wooden  coffin  is  the  iron- 
mounted  Lombard  one  at  Innsbruck  (fig.  i  5).  The 
wood-work  is  of  course  modern.  In  some  cemeter- 
ies bodies  are  found  to  have  been  laid  in  the  grave 
dressed  and  adorned  but  not  enclosed  in  any  coffin. 
M.  Pilloy  has  remarked  in  this  connection  that  the 
body  was  probably  borne  to  the  grave  side  on  an 
open  bier,  covered  perhaps  with  a  shroud. 

The  orientation  of  the  grave  demands  a  word. 
It  is  very  common  to  find  this  lying  east  and 
west,  and  such  a  position  is  generally  regarded  as 
due  to  Christian  influence.  The  notion  of  orient- 
ing buildings  or  tombs  is  certainly  Christian,  but 
it  was  taken  over  from  the  pagan  world,  and  de- 

108 


ORIENTATION  AND  FURNITURE 

pends  on  solar  ideas  according  to  which  the  East  is 
the  home  of  life.  Durandus  in  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury prescribes  orientation  in  burials  on  these  old 
traditional  grounds.  * '  So  ought  a  man  to  be  buried  " 
he  writes  *'that  his  head  may  be  to  the  west  and 
that  he  direct  his  feet  to  the  east,  wherewith  even 
in  his  very  position  he  may  be  as  one  that  prayeth, 
and  may  give  sign  that  he  is  in  readiness  to  hasten 
from  the  setting  to  the  rising,  from  the  world  to 
eternity.''  The  body  placed  with  its  feet  to  the  east 
would  be  so  disposed  that  when  it  arose  at  the  resur- 
rection it  would  face  what  was  held  to  be  the  quarter 
of  life.  Exactly  the  same  idea  prescribed  the  plac- 
ing of  the  door  of  the  Egyptian  tomb  of  the  Old 
Empire,  and  orientation  of  the  kind  has  even  been 
observed  in  stone  age  burials.  Hence  there  is  no 
absolute  certainty  that  oriented  Teutonic  burials  are 
Christian,  but  at  the  same  time  there  is  a  presump- 
tion that  such  burials  belong  to  a  time  after  the  con- 
version of  the  particular  Teutonic  people  concerned. 

Orientation  has  therefore  some  chronological  sig- 
nificance. Can  we  say  the  same  of  tomb  furniture  ? 
The  most  striking  difference  between  the  modern 
and  the  ancient  cemetery  is  the  presence  in  the 
oldersepulchresof  Tomb  Furniture,  the  use  of  which 
gradually  went  out  of  fashion  under  the  influence  of 

109 


GERMANIC  CEMETERIES 

Christianity.  The  practical  universality  of  the  prac- 
tice in  pagan  times  may  be  taken  for  granted,  and 
this  may  account  for  its  long  duration  even  among 
peoples  nominally  converted  to  the  new  faith.  The 
vast  majority  of  the  Teutonic  cemeteries,  at  any 
rate  in  the  lands  south  and  west  of  the  Rhine  and 
Danube,  date  from  a  time  when  the  peoples  who 
used  them  were  Christian  at  any  rate  in  name,  and 
definite  indications  of  Christianity,  though  some- 
what sporadic,  are  almost  everywhere  in  evidence. 
As  a  matter  of  strict  logic  Christians  should  have 
been  interred  without  grave  furniture,  just  as  their 
bodies  should  havebeen  laid  not  in  theolder  heathen 
cemeteries  but  in  consecrated  graveyards  connected 
with  places  of  Christian  worship.  As  a  fact,  just  as 
the  substitution  of  the  churchyard  for  the  burial- 
place  away  upon  the  uplands  worked  itself  out  by 
degrees  in  the  centuries  between  the  sixth  and  the 
ninth,  so  the  habit  of  clothing  and  equipping  the 
corpse  was  only  very  gradually  relinquished,  and  in- 
deed, in  the  case  of  the  chalice  buried  with  the  priest 
and  the  arms  of  the  warrior  hung  up  over  his 
tomb,  survived  into  the  later  middle  ages.  Hence 
the  presence  of  tomb  furniture  is  no  guarantee  that 
the  burial  is  of  the  pagan  period.  It  is  observed 
that  the  later  Teutonic  burials  are  accompanied 

no 


DATES  OF  BURIALS 


with  much  less  grave  furniture  than  the  earlier  ones, 
and  this  is  no  doubt  due  to  the  influence  of  the 
Church,  while  at  the  same  time  some  of  the  costli- 
est treasures  have  come  to  light  in  graves  assured- 
ly of  the  Christian  period. 

On  the  subject  of  the  dates  of  these  cemeteries 
one  can  only  say  generally  that  they  are  on  the  whole 
latish  in  the  period.  Cemeteries  of  the  fifth  century 
are  rare,  but  may  be  found  in  parts  of  Belgium  and 
northern  France.  There  are  one  or  two  small  ones 
in  Hungary.  Dr.  Paul  Reinecke  holds  that  all  over 
south  Germany,  the  Rhineland,  and  France,  the 
earliest  of  the  cemeteries  date  from  the  sixth  and 
most  of  them  from  the  seventh  and  eighth  centuries. 
Of  course  in  the  case  of  important  cemeteries  more 
than  one  period  of  time  will  be  represented,  and, 
this,  it  has  been  pointed  out,  is  especially  true  of 
Keszthely  in  Hungary,  the  finds  in  which  present 
some  notable  difficulties. 

As  regards  the  general  disposition  of  bodies  in 
the  cemetery,  the  following  sentence,  that  refers  to 
the  necropolis  of  Ziko  in  Hungary,  may  be  taken 
as  a  typical  description  applying  in  the  majority  of 
cases  over  the  whole  region  under  our  observation  : 
"  There  were  opened  552  tombs  ....  the  bodies  lay 
as  a  rule  in  narrow  graves,  on  their  backs  with  arms 

1 1 1 


GERMANIC  CEMETERIES 


stretched  out  by  their  sides,  the  head  towards  the 
west,  the  feet  towards  the  east ;  they  were  clothed, 
andingeneral  equipped  with  theusual  tomb  furniture. 
In  seven  cases  the  deceased  had  his  horse  buried 
with  him."  Similaraccounts  from  different  countries 
could  easily  be  adduced.  The  skeleton  shown  in 
fig.  1 6  is  Bavarian  (Marcomannic)  and  was  found 
at  Reichenhall.  It  is  in  the  Museum  of  Ethnology 
at  Berlin  and  may  be  regarded  as  typical. 

It  is  a  notable  fact  that  the  Teutonic  cemetery 
is  very  democratic,  and  the  marked  distinctions  of 
class  that  existed  among  the  living  have  left  little 
trace  in  the  domain  presided  over  by  the  great 
leveller,  Death.  There  is  no  aristocratic  quarter,  no 
quarter  of  the  servile  population,  andgraves  that  from 
their  rich  contents  must  belong  to  members  of  the 
noble  class  are  found  side  by  side  with  others  meanly 
furnished  or  offering  nothing  to  the  explorer.  The 
Kingston  "  brooch  now  at  Liverpool,  perhaps  the 
finest  of  all  Germanic  jewels,  was  found  in  Kent  on 
a  day  in  1771  on  which  twenty-seven  neighbouring 
tumuli  were  also  opened.  Of  these,  twelve  contained 
no  tomb  furniture  at  all,  and  only  six  furnished 
any  article  of  the  least  importance.  The  bodies 
found  in  tombs  destitute  of  furniture  are  however 
disposed  with  just  the  same  care  as  those  in  graves 

112 


DISPOSITION  OF  BODIES 

richly  equipped.  In  some  cemeteries  a  number  of 
graves  may  form  so  compact  a  group  as  to  suggest 
the  burialplace  of  a  sept  or  family.  Occasionally  the 
tombs  of  a  man  and  a  woman  lie  closely  together  and 
are  similarly  furnished,  so  that  the  interment  of  a 
husband  and  wife  is  suggested.  Again,  a  couple 
may  occupy  the  same  grave,  and  there  are  cases  in 
which  the  skeleton  of  a  young  child  has  been  found 
laid  across  the  outstretched  arms  of  its  parents. 
The  graves  of  children  are  as  a  rule  interspersed 
among  the  others,  but  there  are  instances,  as  at 
Samson  in  Belgium,  where  a  part  of  the  cemetery 
seems  to  have  been  set  apart  for  the  juveniles.  It 
is  interesting  to  note  here  that,  as  occurs  elsewhere, 
the  graves  of  the  boys  were  furnished  with  small 
axes  and  lance  heads,  on  the  model  of  those  borne 
by  adult  warriors.  In  the  recently  opened  Ale- 
mannic  cemetery  at  Gammertingen,  north  of  the 
Lake  of  Constance,  there  occurs  what  seems  to  be 
a  family  group.  There  was  the  warrior,  buried  with 
the  completest  panoply  of  which  there  is  record.  H  e 
had,  besides  his  shield,  a  shirt  of  mail,  apparently  of 
German  work,  a  noble  helmet,  a  spatha,  a  scra- 
masax,  a  battleaxe,  a  spear,  with  the  rare  addition 
of  a  quiver  and  sheaf  of  arrow  heads.  Near  by  was 
the  skeleton  of  a  stately  woman  and  at  her  feet  the 

113  8 


GERMANIC  CEMETERIES 


bones  of  a  horse.  The  bones  of  a  young  girl  of  about 
eight  came  next,  and  forming  part  of  the  same  group 
were  two  or  three  graves  that  seemed  to  be  those 
of  handmaids.    All  had  suitable  tomb  furniture. 

M.  Pilloy  describes  in  interesting  fashion  how  he 
gradually  uncovered,  in  an  unrifled  tomb  of  the 
sixth  century,  the  richly  equipped  body  of  a  Prank- 
ish lady  of  rank  and  substance — describes  it  too 
with  a  touch  of  that  sentiment  which  not  even  arch- 
aeology can  eradicate  from  the  Gallic  soul.  'Tt 
was  not  without  a  certain  emotion,*'  he  writes,  ''that 
when  I  had  lifted  the  cover  of  the  cist  I  beheld,  with- 
out any  veil  but  the  thin  coating  of  dust,  the  skeleton 
within.  It  was  very  complete  and  wonderfully 
preserved,  and  I  soon  recognized  it  as  that  of  a 
woman  who  had  died  in  the  full  vigour  of  her  age,  in 
that  second  period  of  youth  when  beauty  glows  with 
a  warmth  like  that  of  the  ripened  corn. 

'*The  jewels,  with  which  her  dear  ones,  perhaps  a 
husband  inconsolable  in  his  grief,  had  adorned  her 
with  tender  solicitude,  were  so  distinctly  to  be  seen 
in  the  positions  they  had  occupied  on  her  person, 
that  with  a  little  imagination  one  could  picture  this 
before  the  mind  just  as  it  appeared  when  committed 
to  the  tomb.  The  feet  touched  one  end  of  the  cist, 
and  the  head,  slightly  turned  to  the  right,  the  other. 

114 


A  PRANKISH  LADY 


The  limbs  were  extended,  the  hands  crossed  upon 
the  body."  After  a  description  of  the  numerous 
ornaments  and  other  objects,  M.  Pilloy  concludes, 
''As  one  sees,  the  tomb  furniture  of  this  wealthy  lady 
is  a  testimony  alike  to  the  skill  of  those  who  created 
it  and  to  the  innate  love  of  adornment,  which,  at  all 
times  and  in  all  places,  has  been  a  ruling  passion 
with  the  fairer  half  of  the  human  race  "  ! 


CHAPTER  VI 


ARMS  AND  EQUIPMENT  OF  THE  WARRIOR 

Importance  in  this  matter  of  the  question,  Roman  or  Teuton  ?  The 
spatha  or  broadsword,  the  scramasax  and  knife,  the  spear,  the 
angon,  the  axe,  the  shield.  Narrative  of  the  death  of  Teias. 

The  chief  normal  items  of  Teutonic  tomb  furniture 
are  indicated  in  the  headings  of  this  and  the  two 
succeeding  chapters.  Certain  groups  of  objects, 
such  as  arms,  are  found  only  in  graves  of  men  ; 
other  groups,  consisting  partly  in  ornaments  such 
as  necklets  of  variegated  glass  beads,  and  partly  in 
feminine  implements,  occuronly  in  women's  graves  ; 
while  a  third  class  of  objects,  such  as  the  brooch, 
the  buckle,  and  the  knife,  may  be  found  accompany- 
ing the  bones  of  either  sex  indifferently.  Many  of 
the  objects  are  of  a  kind  not  specially  Teutonic,  but 
like  the  mounted  wooden  buckets,  or  the  beads  and 
vases  of  glass,  are  found  in  Celtic  or  in  Roman 
cemeteries,  while  many  others  have  a  distinctively 
Germanic  character. 

ii6 


ROMAN  AND  GERMANIC  ARMS 


The  arms  are  of  special  interest  in  connection 
with  the  question  of  native  or  Roman  provenance, 
which  a  worker  in  this  field  can  never  hope  to 
escape.  It  was  in  the  military  sphere,  as  we  have 
seen,  that  the  interpenetration  of  Teuton  and 
Roman  was  particularly  intimate,  and  it  is  quite 
plausible  to  argue  that  German  weapons  would  be 
only  modified  Roman  ones.  This  is  not  however 
the  case.  The  coat  of  mail,  a  very  rare  object  in 
Teutonic  graves,^  may  be  of  Roman  origin  though 
at  times  of  Germanic  make,  while  the  helmet,  almost 
equally  scarce,  is  in  its  conical  form  and  its  con- 
struction with  ribs  and  filling  quite  un- Roman,  and 
probably  comes  from  the  East  by  way  of  southern 
Russia.  There  is  an  example  shown  in  fig.  1 1 7  on 
Plate  XXX.  The  Teutonic  axe  was  used  for  throw- 
ing, an  art  the  legionaries  did  not  practise.  The 
most  characteristic  of  all  the  Germanic  weapons,  the 
short,  broad,  heavy,  one-edged  sword  called  scra- 
masax,  has  no  prototype  among  Roman  weapons, 
and,  though  it  was  preceded  by  an  early  Iron  age 
type,  is  essentially  Germanic.  The  general  aspect 
of  a  fully  armed  Teutonic  warrior  can  be  judged 

^  The  statements  in  the  text  are  based  on  archaeological  evidence. 
From  literary  sources,  e.g.  from  Beowulf^  we  should  derive  the  impres- 
sion that  the  coat  of  mail  was  fairly  common. 

117 


THE  WARRIOR'S  ARMS 


from  the  ideal  figure,  coloured  casts  of  which  are 
published  by  the  Germanic  Museum  at  Mainz,  a 
reproduction  whereof  will  be  found  in  fig.  37  on 
Plate  X. 

In  connection  with  the  noblest  of  all  the  weapons, 
the  double-edged  broadsword,  this  question  of 
Roman  or  Teuton  at  once  confronts  us.  It  is  of 
rare  occurrence  in  the  graves  of  Teutonic  warriors, 
and  this  fact  at  once  differentiates  it  from  the 
Roman  sword  which  was  carried  by  every  legion- 
ary. With  the  Teuton  it  was  evidently  the  weapon 
of  the  chief,  and  this  explanation  of  its  rarity  is  better 
than  the  theory  that  makes  it  exclusively  the  arm  of 
the  mounted  warrior. 

This  sword,  called  by  the  Latinized-Greek  word 
''spatha,"  was  not,  as  Lindenschmit  suggested,  an 
imitation  of  the  Roman  sword  of  the  legionaries. 
It  was  not  only  much  longer  but  was  used  for  strik- 
ing, not  like  the  Roman  short  sword  for  the  thrust, 
and  it  does  not  seem  to  have  had  such  a  serviceable 
hilt.  The  Teutonic  spatha  descends  from  the  big 
ron  broadsword  carried  by  the  Gauls  of  the  La 
Tene  period  in  their  incursions  into  classical  lands. 
An  intermediate  stage  is  represented  by  the  great 
finds  of  sword  blades,  in  the  votive  deposits  of  about 
the  fourth  or  fifth  century  in  the  mosses  of  Nydam 

118 


17- 


.  EARLY  VIKING  SWORD  AT  STOCKHOLM. 
).  SCRAMASAXES  AT  ST.  GERMAIN. 


t8.  SPATHAS  at  ST.  GERMAIN. 

20.  SCRAMASAXES  AT  NUREMBERG. 


LONG  AND  SHORT  SWORDS 


and  Thorsberg  in  Schleswig.  The  spatha  of  the 
migrations  is  itself  the  progenitor  of  the  Viking 
sword  of  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries,  that  made  it- 
self a  terror  in  all  the  western  world,  and  a  fine  early 
specimen  of  which  at  Stockholm  is  shown  in  fig.  17. 
In  theseViking  swords  we  get  for  the  first  time  in  the 
history  of  the  weapon  in  the  north  an  effective  guard. 
From  the  Viking  sword  again  was  descended  the 
straight  cross-hilted  sword  of  crusading  days.  Fig. 
18  shows  a  number  of  spathas  of  Frankish  and  Bur- 
gundian  origin  in  the  Museum  at  St.  Germain.  The 
longest  of  these  blades  measures  two  feet  six  inches, 
but  this  length  is  sometimes  exceeded.  The  spa- 
tha, always  rare,  is  distributed  fairly  evenly  over 
the  cemeteries  of  the  different  peoples. 

The  Teutonic  warrior  of  the  superior  class  re- 
sembled the  legionary  in  carrying  two  hand-weapons, 
but  whereas  with  the  Roman  these  were  short  sword 
and  dagger,  the  former  bore  besides  his  spatha  a 
specially  Germanic  arm,  which,  at  its  best  and  larg- 
est, was  a  very  heavy,  single-edged,  straight-bladed 
cutlass,  broad  and  thick  at  the  back  that  curved  for- 
ward at  the  top  to  meet  the  cutting  edge  at  a  point. 
Along  the  blade  near  the  back  there  almost  always 
ran  two  or  three  longitudinal  grooves.  It  might  be 
of  a  total  length  of  two  feet  to  two  feet  six  inches, 

119 


THE  WARRIOR'S  ARMS 


with  abreadth  of  two  totwoand  three-quarter  inches 
at  the  hilt,  where  the  back  was  as  much  as  nearly 
half-an-inch  thick.  In  a  passage  in  Gregory  of 
Tours  weapons  of  this  kind  are  termed  ''cultri 
validi,  quos  vulgo  scramasaxos  vocant,"  and  the 
name  scramasax/'  one  of  uncertain  derivation,  is 
always  applied  to  them.  It  is  a  great  peculiarity  of 
the  scramasax  that  its  handle  is  often  of  abnormal 
length  and  furnishes  a  plain  indication  that  it  was 
wielded  with  both  hands.  When  the  blade  was  of 
substantial  length  and  also  very  heavy  it  became  a 
most  formidable  weapon  when  thus  wielded,  and 
Ammianus  Marcellinus  gives  an  idea  of  the  ghastly 
blows  which  it  would  deal.  It  is  curious  however 
to  find  these  long  handles  sometimes  attached  to 
blades  of  very  circumscribed  dimensions,  while  the 
longer  scramasaxes  have  often  short  hilts.  There 
was  apparently  no  guard,  and  a  knob  beaten  up  at 
the  end  of  the  tang  served  to  fix  the  grip,  which 
like  that  of  the  spatha  was  of  wood  or  bone.  The 
weapons  agreed  also  in  possessing  sheaths  that  were 
generally  of  wood,  covered  perhaps  with  hide,  and 
the  scramasax  sheath  was  adorned  with  a  series  of 
studs. 

The  history  of  the  weapon  is  obscure,  and  ex- 
plorers of  Prankish  cemeteries  in  Belgium  and 

1 20 


THE  SCRAMASAX 


north-eastern  France  report  that  at  the  time  of  the 
Prankish  conquest,  in  the  fifth  century,  it  was  not 
employed,  but  that  it  came  into  fashion  later  on, 
about  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century,  and  remained 
in  common  use  till  the  Carolingian  period.  A 
weapon  of  a  similar  kind  was  however  found  in  the 
grave  of  Childeric  of  481  a.d. 

The  fact  that  the  name  culter,"  knife,"  is 
applied  to  it  may  give  a  key  to  its  history.  The 
knife  is  the  most  common  of  all  implements  in 
Germanic  graves,  both  of  men  and  women,  and 
the  knife  is  nearly  always  in  form  a  small  scrama- 
sax.  Indeed  the  one  runs  into  the  other  through 
a  series  of  intermediate  sizes,  and  we  may  con- 
jecture that  the  scramasax  was  really  developed 
from  the  earlier  domestic  implement.  It  is  not 
however  so  general  in  its  distribution  as  the  knife, 
and  belongs  more  especially  to  the  Franks,  the 
Alemanni  and  the  Burgundians.  It  is  found  also 
among  the  Lombards  and  occasionally  in  Britain. 
Fig.  19  shows  a  set  at  St.  Germain  which  illustrates 
the  variety  in  size,  and  the  shading  off  of  the  short 
sword  into  the  knife.  Fig.  20  gives  some  at  Niiren- 
berg  still  in  their  sheaths.  The  longest  measures 
thirty-one  inches. 

The  normal  weapon  of  the  Teutonic  man-at-arms 

121 


THE  WARRIOR'S  ARMS 

was  the  spear.  Spear  heads  are  of  all  forms  of  arm 
the  most  abundant  in  the  Teutonic  cemeteries,  and 
while  they  take  many  different  shapes  they  are  not 
on  the  whole  so  beautiful  in  their  lines  as  the  earlier 
spear  heads  of  the  bronze  epoch.  Lindenschmit 
remarks  that  even  in  a  single  Germanic  cemetery 
it  is  hard  to  find  two  lance  heads  alike.  Tacitus 
tells  us  that  the  Germans  called  the  spear  framea 
and  that  it  was  narrow  in  the  blade  and  very  sharp, 
equally  suitable  for  hurling  as  a  javelin  or  for  hand 
to  hand  combat.  Such  narrow  blades  may  be  illus- 
trated from  the  large  collection  at  St.  Germain 
(fig.  2i),  but  the  most  interesting  example  is  that 
found  in  the  tomb  of  Childeric  and  shown  in 
fig.  2  2.  Another  type  has  a  broader  leaf-shaped 
blade,  and  a  beautiful  example  of  this  in  the  Museum 
at  Stuttgart,  of  Alemannic  origin,  is  ornamented 
with  geometrical  designs  in  silver,  by  a  technique 
that  will  afterwards  be  noticed  (fig.  23). 

The  spear  heads  are  all  supplied  with  hollow 
sockets  to  receive  the  head  of  the  shaft,  but  there  is 
this  curious  difference  that  among  some  peoples,  such 
as  the  Anglo-Saxons  and  the  Franks,  the  socket  is 
open  on  one  side  while  elsewhere  it  was  closed.  As 
regards  the  staves,  the  fact  that  spears  were  placed 
by  the  side  of  the  warrior  in  his  grave  seems  to  show 

122 


THE  ANGON 


that  their  total  length  cannot  have  been  greater  than 
that  of  a  tall  man.  At  the  butt  end  they  were  some- 
times shod  with  an  iron  cap,  itself  pointed  or  carry- 
ing a  projecting  spike. 

Something  must  be  said  about  a  special  type  of 
Teutonic  spear,  the  so-called  '*angon.'*  This  is 
described  to  us  in  an  often-quoted  passage  in  the 
Byzantine  historian  Agathias  as  something  peculiar 
to  the  Franks.  In  reality,  it  was  not  specially 
Prankish  nor  even  Germanic,  but  an  imitation  of  a 
well-known  weapon  of  the  Romans,  the  historic 
pilum.  The  Roman  pilum  was  a  spear  of  which 
not  only  the  head  but  the  shaft,  to  a  length  of  three 
or  four  feet,  was  of  iron.  The  shaft  ended  in  a 
socket  generally  square  in  section  into  which  was 
inserted  a  wooden  shaft.  The  whole  formed  a  heavy 
javelin  of  some  eight  or  nine  feet  in  length  and  when 
hurled  by  the  practised  hand  of  the  legionary  was  of 
formidable  penetrating  power.  When  it  was  fixed 
firmly  in  an  enemy's  shield,  it  dragged  this  down  by 
its  weight,  and  left  the  bearer  exposed.  The  fact 
that  the  shaft  was  of  iron  rendered  it  impossible  to 
hew  off  the  head  and  so  relieve  the  shield. 

The  angon,  as  described  by  Agathias,  and  as 
represented  by  extant  examples  found  in  Germanic 
tombs,  was  in  all  essentials  the  Roman  pilum,  with 

123 


THE  WARRIOR'S  ARMS 


the  addition  that  the  angon  had  a  barbed  point  in- 
stead of  a  plain  one.  This  prevented  the  contin- 
gency of  its  dropping  out  after  it  had  effected  an 
entrance  into  the  object  aimed  at,  and  added  to  its 
efficiency.  Literary  notices  teach  us  that  a  cord 
was  sometimes  attached  to  the  angon,  at  any  rate  in 
the  case  of  a  single  combat,  and  this  is  of  interest  as 
we  can  see  in  the  modern  harpoon  as  used  for  whale 
fishing  a  survival  of  this  old  Germanic  weapon. 

The  angon  is  rare  in  tombs  and  is  chiefly  found  in 
those  of  the  Franks.  Lindenschmit  in  1880  reck- 
oned up  thirty-five  specimens  in  various  museums. 
One  or  two  have  been  found  in  our  own  country. 
The  best  preserved  specimen  is  in  the  museum  at 
Brussels,  and  is  given,  with  details  of  head  and  butt, 
in  fig.  24.  It  measures  in  length  three  feet  six  inches, 
the  point  with  its  barbs  three  inches.  There  are 
someangons  also  in  fig.  21. 

An  important  place  among  the  missile  weapons 
of  the  Germans  is  taken  by  the  axe.  This  is  a  very 
characteristic  product  of  the  northern  armourer  s 
industry.  It  has,  like  so  many  other  pieces  of  the 
Teutonic  armament,  its  distinctive  name.  This 
name  ''Francisca"  seems  to  connect  it  specially 
with  the  Franks,  but  it  is  found  in  the  cemeteries  of 
practically  all  the  other  peoples.    There  are  several 

124 


THE  THROWING  AXE 

types,  but  the  type  which  has  the  best  right  to  the 
name  Francisca  is  that  represented  by  the  war-axe 
the  blade  of  which  was  found  in  the  tomb  of  the 
Prankish  king  Childeric  (fig.  22),  This  is  seven 
and  three-quarters  inches  long  from  butttoedge,and 
the  cutting  edge  itself  is  four  inches  broad.  The 
peculiarity  of  the  head  is  that  when  hafted  the  axial 
line  along  the  middle  of  the  blade  from  butt  to  edge 
is  not  at  right  angles  to  the  haft,  but  runs  down  to- 
wards it  at  an  acute  angle,  so  that  the  head  points 
upwards.  This  setting  of  the  head  was  of  advan- 
tage when  the  axe  was  used  as  a  missile,  as  was  the 
case  in  Prankish  warfare.  Axes  of  this  form  are 
met  with  in  almost  all  regions,  but  they  are  never 
abundant  save  in  Belgium  and  northern  Prance  and 
on  the  Rhine,  the  motherland  of  the  Pranks. 

The  special  form  of  the  Prancisca  with  its  tilt 
upwards  is  well  shown  in  a  number  of  specimens 
at  St.  Germain  from  north-eastern  Prance  shown  in 
fig.  25.  In  the  same  case  are  represented  some  of 
the  other  types  already  referred  to.  An  axe  with 
a  broad  cutting  edge  is  to  be  noted.  It  is  set  at 
right  angles  to  the  handle,  and  has  at  times  at  the 
back  a  hammer.  This  feature,  and  the  fact  that 
the  broad  blade  seems  suitable  for  wood  cutting, 
gives  this  axe  the  appearance  of  a  tool  rather  than 

125 


THE  WARRIOR'S  ARMS 


a  weapon  of  war.  Probably  it  had  both  destina- 
tions, as  if  it  had  been  simply  an  implement  it  could 
hardly  have  been  included  in  the  tomb  furniture. 
This  form  of  axe  is  sometimes  called  specially  Anglo- 
Saxon,  but  there  seems  small  ground  for  this. 

The  Germans  were  familiar  with  the  use  of  the 
bow,  and  in  view  of  this  fact  the  rarity  in  the  graves 
of  arrow  heads  is  somewhat  surprising.  The  absence 
of  traces  of  the  perishable  bow  and  quiver  is  not  so 
remarkable,  but  occasional  symptoms  of  these  have 
been  noticed. 

Of  defensive  weapons  the  only  one  in  common 
use  was  the  shield,  for  it  has  been  already  noticed 
that  the  coat  of  mail  and  the  helmet  are  very  rare, 
while  there  is  only  some  slight  literary  evidence  that 
greaves  or  other  minor  pieces  of  body  armour  were 
part  of  the  Teutonic  equipment. 

In  the  case  of  the  rank-and-file,  who  were  not 
only  devoid  of  defensive  armour  but  lacked  even 
the  protection  of  thick  felt-like  clothing,  the  shield 
was  of  the  utmost  importance,  and  we  should  ex- 
pect to  find  traces  of  it  wherever  arms  of  any  kind 
appeared  in  a  grave.  It  is  however  almost  invari- 
ably represented  where  it  occurs  only  by  its  iron 
mounts,  while  the  orb  of  the  shield  itself  which 
was  of  wood  has  generally  disappeared.  These  iron 

126 


DEFENSIVE  WEAPONS 


mounts  would  probably  belong  only  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  corps  dUlite,  many  of  whom  carried  also 
the  two-edged  swords,  and  the  shields  of  the  com- 
mon soldiers  would  be  of  wood  only,  or  even  of 
rougher  make,  for  in  the  case  of  a  battle  between 
the  Goths  and  Gepidae  in  488  a.d.,  we  learn  that  the 
former  carried  shields  of  wicker-work.  The  Franks 
who  descended  into  Italy  in  539  a.d.  are  described 
as  all  armed  with  shields,  and  the  same  is  reported 
of  an  Alemannic  host  which  Narses  defeated  at 
Capua  at  the  close  of  the  Gothic  war. 

The  only  fairly  complete  shields  known  are  some 
that  came  to  light  in  the  mosses  of  Schleswig.  One 
that  is  preserved  in  the  museum  at  Copenhagen  is 
shown  in  fig.  26.  The  round  boss  or  '*umbo*'  in  the 
centre  covers  a  hole  in  the  wood  across  which  is 
fastened  the  single  handle  by  which  the  shield  was 
held  and  manipulated.  The  hollow  of  the  boss 
gives  roomfor,  and  protection  to,  the  knuckles.  What 
is  surprising  about  the  Schleswig  shields  is  their 
curious  thinness,  for  the  wood  of  the  extant  speci- 
mens is  never  so  much  as  three-eighths  of  an  inch 
in  thickness.  A  covering  of  hide  may  be  assumed, 
as  we  are  told  that  the  starving  soldiers  of  a  Frank- 
ish  army  in  the  sixth  century  were  reduced  to  seek 
nutriment  by  gnawing  the  covers  of  their  shields. 

127 


THE  WARRIOR'S  ARMS 


In  the  Germanic  cemeteries  in  general  all  we  find 
of  the  shield  is  the  iron  umbo ;  the  handle,  also  of 
iron  and  extended  out  so  as  to  get  a  good  grip  of 
the  wood- work  (fig.  27,  see  also  specimens  in  fig. 
21);  and  sundry  studs  and  rivets.  The  form  of  the 
umbo  varies,  and  the  most  common  shape  on  the 
whole  is  that  of  the  Prankish  and  Burgundian  bosses 
shown  in  fig.  21,  where  a  depressed  hemisphere 
rising  to  a  central  stud  is  mounted  on  a  rim  con- 
cave in  section.  At  the  base  the  iron  spreads  out 
into  a  flat  plate  concentric  with  the  raised  part, 
through  which  rivets,  sometimes  with  ornamental 
heads,  fasten  the  iron  to  the  wood.  This  form  of 
umbo  is  fairly  well  distributed,  but  there  is  a  speci- 
ality about  those  found  in  the  graves  of  the  Lom- 
bards in  that  the  centre  of  the  boss  is  ornamented, 
as  may  be  seen  in  fig.  28.  This  is  of  Lombard 
style  but  not  actually  of  Lombard  provenance,  as  it 
was  found  in  the  Rhineland.  Rarer  forms  of  the 
umbo  are  conical,  the  sides  of  the  cone  being 
sometimes  convex,  sometimes  concave,  and  some- 
times straight.  The  sharp  point  of  some  of  these 
cones  suggests  that  they  might  have  been  used  as 
weapons. 

The  diameter  of  the  shields  in  the  moss-finds 
from  Schleswig  varies  from  twenty-two  to  forty- 

128 


PLATE  VII 


25.  AXE-HEADS,  ETC.,  AT  ST.  GERMAIN. 
27.  HANDLE  OF  SHIELD,  NAMUR. 


26.  SHIELD  AT  COPENHAGEN. 

28.   ORNAMENTED  SHIELD  BOSS,  MAINZ. 


\ 


THE  DEATH  OF  TEIAS 


four  inches.  As  we  read  more  than  once  of  soldiers 
crossing  rivers  on  their  shields,  and  learn  also  that 
a  new  chief  was  recognized  by  his  followers  by  be- 
ing raised  upon  a  shield,  we  must  assume  that  they 
were  at  times  both  large  and  strong.  The  heroic 
episode  of  the  death  in  battle  of  the  Ostrogothic 
King  Teias  certainly  leaves  us  with  this  impression. 
The  account  of  the  incident,  which  is  given  in 
Dr.  Hodgkin's  picturesque  rendering  in  his  Italy 
and  her  Invaders,  may  almost  be  termed  an  epic  of 
the  shield.  In  the  year  553,  at  the  close  of  the 
tragic  struggle  of  the  ill-fated  Goths  against  the 
forces  of  the  Eastern  Empire,  the  last  King  Teias 
stood  with  a  little  band  of  followers  in  front  of  the 
Gothic  ranks,  and  performed  in  the  judgment  of 
the  Greek  historian  Procopius  deeds  worthy  of  the 
old  days  of  the  heroes."  Covering  his  body  with  his 
broad  Gothic  shield  he  made  a  sudden  rush,  now 
here,  now  there,  and  transfixed  with  his  spear  many 
of  his  foes.  Vainly  meanwhile  were  the  Roman 
lances  thrust  at  him,  and  the  Roman  arrows  did  but 
bury  themselves  in  his  mighty  buckler.  When  this, 
being  full  of  arrows,  became  too  heavy  for  his  arm, 
an  armour-bearer,  deftly  interposing  a  new  shield, 
relieved  him  of  the  old  one. 

A  third  of  the  day  had  worn  away  in  this  strife 

129  9 


THE  WARRIOR'S  ARMS 


of  heroes,  and  now  was  the  buckler  of  Teias  heavy 
with  the  weight  of  twelve  hostile  darts  suspended 
from  it.  Without  flinching  by  a  fingers-breadth 
from  his  post  in  the  forefront  of  the  battle,  and 
standing  like  one  rooted  to  the  ground,  the  king, 
still  dealing  death  around  him,  called  eagerly  to  his 
squire  for  another  shield.  He  came,  he  removed 
the  dart-laden  shield  and  strove  to  interpose  a  fresh 
one,  but  in  the  moment  of  the  exchange  a  javelin 
pierced  the  breast  of  Teias,  and  he  fell  mortally 
wounded  to  the  ground. 


CHAPTER  VII 


PARURE  AND  PERSONAL   BELONGINGS  OF  GERMANIC 

LADIES 

Dress  fastenings  ;  the  fibula  in  its  different  forms,  with  a  glance  at 
its  development ;  the  buckle,  etc.  Personal  ornaments :  diadem  ; 
hair-pin  ;  necklet,  especially  of  glass  beads ;  arm  and  finger  ring ; 
ear  pendant.  Personal  belongings  ;  pouch  and  chatelaine  and 
their  appendages. 

If  the  mouldering  arms  in  the  graves  of  Teutonic 
warriors  recall  to  us  deeds  of  romantic  prowess, 
such  as  that  just  recorded,  so  too  the  jewels  and 
necklets  and  keys  and  chatelaines  with  which  we 
have  now  to  deal  remind  us  of  those  warriors*  fair- 
haired  consorts  and  daughters,  of  whose  beauty, 
sometimes  of  whose  turbulence,  the  annals  of  the 
time  are  eloquent.  There  was  a  Prankish  maiden, 
Eudoxia,  whose  radiant  loveliness  won  the  heart  of 
the  Emperor  Arcadius,  in  whose  palace  she  ruled 
supreme  as  Empress  for  a  decade.  Of  the  young 
Teutonic  heroine,  viewed  rather  from  the  physical 

131 


THE  LADY'S  PARURE 


than  the  moral  side,  we  gain  a  brilliant  impression 
from  the  verses  of  Charles  the  Great's  court  poet, 
in  which  he  describes  that  monarch's  six  fair 
daughters  riding  in  his  train  at  a  hunting  party.  It 
is  not  a  genuine  record,  for  the  showy  lasses  are 
far  too  finely  dressed  for  the  chase,  but  we  have  a 
portrait,  inspired  by  the  poet's  personal  affection, 
of  the  princess  Bertha,  surrounded  by  a  comitatus 
of  girl  friends,  Bertha,  whose  voice,  whose  manly 
courage,  whose  quick-glancing  eye  and  expressive 
features  recalled  the  image  of  her  father  ;  a  portrait 
too  of  Hrotrud,  who  should  have  been  Empress  of 
the  East  ;  and  of  the  other  half-sisters,  with  their 
yellow  hair  and  their  proud  looks. 

Of  all  the  objects  of  personal  adornment  with 
which  the  Teutonic  beauty  enhanced  her  charms, 
that  on  which  the  craftsman  lavished  most  pains 
and  employed  the  finest  materials  was  the  fibula  or 
brooch,  and  next  to  the  brooch  in  sumptuousness 
came  the  buckle.  Both  brooch  and  buckle  were 
worn  by  men  as  well  as  by  women,  but  for  the  sake 
of  convenience  the  objects  are  dealt  with  in  this 
place  in  all  their  typical  forms  independently  of  the 
sex  of  the  wearers.  Indeed  the  different  kinds  of 
fibulae  seem  to  havebeen  used  indifferently  by  either 
sex,  though,  as  was  pointed  out  on  an  earlier  page 

132 


FIBULA  AND  BUCKLE 


{ante^  p.  50),  the  women  more  often  wore  their 
brooches  in  pairs.  In  the  case  of  the  buckles,  there 
is  a  certain  type  of  them,  found  in  Prankish  and 
Burgundian  graves,  that  is  remarkable  for  extra- 
ordinary size  and  weight,  and  M.  Pilloy  assures  us 
that  he  has  found  these  heavy  iron  attachments 
for  the  belt  in  the  graves  of  women. 

Though  the  fibulaand  the  buckle  have  been  men- 
tioned together  and  are  artistically  associated,  yet 
from  the  historical  point  of  view  there  is  a  great  dif- 
ference between  them.  When  the  Teutonic  peoples 
appeared  upon  the  scene,  the  fibula  had  already  be- 
hind it  a  history  extending  over  more  than  a  thous- 
and years,  and  had  passed  through  a  long  series  of 
typological  changes,  developing  in  the  process  a 
great  variety  of  local  forms.  The  buckle  on  the 
other  hand  only  seems  to  have  come  into  use  in 
imperial  Roman  times,  and  appears  at  Pompeii, 
for  example,  in  the  simplest  possible  shapes.  Some 
archaeologists  have  held  that  the  buckle  was  inde- 
pendently invented  in  northern  Europe  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  migration  period,  but  whether  this 
was  the  case,  or  whether  the  Germans  took  it  over 
from  the  Romans,  they  began  with  it  in  a  compara- 
tively undeveloped  form,  while  the  fibula,  when  it 
first  came  into  their  hands,  was  already  a  much  cul- 

133 


THE  LADY'S  PARURE 


tivated  product.  Into  the  pre-Germanic  history  of 
the  fibula  it  will  be  impossible  to  enter,  and  it  must 
sufifice  to  indicate  the  chief  forms  it  assumed  im- 
mediately before  and  during  the  period  with  which 
we  are  actually  concerned.  Of  the  buckle,  which 
has  no  pre-Germanic  history,  the  account  can  be 
made  more  complete. 

The  almost  innumerable  varieties  of  the  brooch 
in  the  ancient  and  early  medieval  world  may  be 
conveniently  classed  as  belonging  to  three  princi- 
pal types,  that  may  be  termed  the  ring  type,  the 
plate  type,  and  the  safety-pin  type.  The  first  is 
not  necessarily  the  earliest  nor  the  most  impor- 
tant, but  it  may  be  put  forward  to  the  front  be- 
cause it  happens  that  it  is  essentially  the  same  as 
the  simplest  form  of  the  buckle,  and  according  to 
one  view  it  is  here  that  the  buckle  actually  found 
its  origin.  In  the  ring  brooch  and  the  simple  buckle, 
the  piece  of  stuff  or  the  band  which  it  is  desired  to 
fix  is  passed  through  a  metal  ring  and  then  pierced, 
skewer  fashion,  by  a  pin  longer  than  the  diameter 
of  the  ring,  so  that  it  cannot  be  pulled  through  back 
again  till  the  pin  is  withdrawn.  If  the  pin  be  hinged 
on  the  ring  it  will  always  be  ready  for  use.  When 
the  ring  is  not  quite  closed  and  the  hinged  pin  can 
travel  freely  round  it,  we  have  the  convenient  and 

134 


PLATE  VIII 


31  32 

PENANNULAR  BROOCH,  ROCHESTER  30.  ANNULAR  BROOCHES,    (aBOVE)  LIVER- 

MUSEUM.  POOL,  (below)  CANTERBURY. 

ANNULAR  brooches,  MAIDSTONE.  32.  SIMPLEST  FORMS  OF  BUCKLES,  LIVER- 

POOL. 


PLATE  IX 


PENANNULAR  BROOCHES 

familiar  penannular  brooch,  which  is  occasionally 
found  in  Teutonic  graves  especially  in  our  own 
country,  but  in  Scandinavia  in  the  Viking  period, 
and  in  the  Celtic  area  of  the  British  Islands,  becomes 
very  abundant.  The  closed  ring  brooch,  essentially 
the  same  as  the  simple  buckle  such  as  is  used  for 
the  modern  strap,  save  that  the  latter  is  oval  or 
square  rather  than  circular,  is  also  known  in  the 
graves  of  our  forefathers,  and  with  it  isfoundanother 
form  in  which  the  ring  has  become  a  flat  annular 
plate.  Fig.  29  shows  a  penannular  and  figs.  30 
and  3 1  annular  brooches  of  the  two  kinds,  and  with 
the  latter  may  be  compared  fig.  32,  giving  the 
simplest  form  of  the  buckle  and  also  the  beginning 
of  its  development  which  we  shall  presently  have 
to  follow. 

The  above  forms  are  on  the  whole  rare  and  un- 
important in  Teutonic  grave  inventories,  and  were 
only  occasionally  used  in  provincial  Roman  art. 
The  second  type  on  the  other  hand,  that  of  the 
plate  brooch,  is  a  very  familiar  classical  product, 
and  was  also  greatly  used  by  certain  branches  of  the 
Teutonic  stock,  notably  the  Franks,  the  Jutes  and 
the  English  Saxons.  In  this  form  of  brooch  all 
that  is  seen  is  a  plate  of  some  kind,  that  may  have 
any  sort  of  shape  and  enrichment,  while  underneath 

135 


THE  LADY'S  PARURE 

this  a  pin  is  hinged  and  adjusted  to  a  catch  so  as  to 
hold  firmly  any  stuff  through  which  it  is  passed. 
Brooches  of  this  kind  must  have  been  in  familiar 
use  among  the  Greeks,  for  many  Greek  ladies  would 
wear  them,  and  youths  certainlyfastened  in  the  same 
way  their  military  cloak  or  chlamys.  We  can  only 
judge  of  their  form  and  character  from  representa- 
tions in  sculpture  and  painting,  for  it  is  a  curious  fact 
that  very  few  actual  examples  have  ever  come  to 
light.  The  Romans  also  made  great  use  of  fasten- 
ings of  the  kind,  especially  for  the  military  cloak,  and 
the  famous  mosaic  picture  of  the  Emperor  Justinian 
at  Ravenna  (fig.  33)  shows  him  wearing  one.  It  is 
worthy  of  notice  also  that  Justinian's  consort  Theo- 
dora in  the  companion  mosaic  (fig.  34)  wears  two 
such  brooches,  one  on  each  shoulder,  and  we  are  re- 
minded of  the  similar  uses  of  the  fibula  evidenced  in 
Teutonic  graves  (ante,  p.  50).  It  will  be  noticed  that 
from  these  round  brooches  there  hang  in  each  case 
pendants.  These  seem  to  have  been  common  attach- 
ments to  brooches  of  a  sumptuous  kind,  and  we  see 
them  falling  from  a  fibula  of  another  form,  presently 
to  be  noticed,  on  a  carved  ivory  figure  of  the  period 
representing  ''Roma"  in  the  Museum  at  Vienna 
(fig.  35).  These  pendants  have  in  some  cases  sur- 
vived, as  in  that  of  the  fibula  from  Petrossa  shown 

136 


PLATE  X 


PLATE  FIBULiE 


on  the  frontispiece,  and  in  that  of  a  beautiful  jewel 
in  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale  at  Paris  given  in  fig. 
94  on  Plate  XXIV.  Fig.  36,  an  ivory  carving  at 
Vienna  showing  a  Roman  emperor  of  our  period,  has 
been  added  as  evidence  of  the  extraordinary  love  for 
a  sumptuous  display  of  jewels  which  in  this  epoch 
was  common  to  Roman  and  to  Teuton.  It  may  be 
noted  that  this  form  of  fastening  proved  so  con- 
venient that  it  has  remained  in  use  ever  since,  and  is 
the  familiar  brooch  worn  by  every  modern  woman. 

It  was  doubtless  from  the  Romans  that  our  Teu- 
tonic forefathers  adopted  the  fashion,  but  when  the 
form  was  established  in  use  it  was  made  in  its  shape, 
material,  and  ornamentation  to  wear  a  thoroughly 
Germanic  aspect.  Some  of  the  most  beautiful 
extant  examples  of  the  craftsmanship  of  the  period 
are  to  be  seen  in  objects  of  the  kind,  the  finest  of 
which  are  of  Anglo-Saxon  origin.  Some  of  the 
noblest  specimens,  such  as  the  far-famed  ''King- 
ston "  brooch,  now  at  Liverpool,  were  found  in  the 
graves  of  women.  Some  characteristic  examples 
are  brought  together  in  figs.  38  to  40. 

Another  form  of  the  plate  brooch,  found  in  the 
graves  both  of  men  and  women,  is  the  so-called 
saucer   fibula,  a  speciality  of  the  English  Saxons, 
but  occurring  also  in  northern  France.    As  may 

137 


THE  LADY'S  PARURE 

be  seen  in  the  set  shown  in  fig.  41,  some  are  made 
all  in  one  piece,  and  gilded  on  the  face,  while  others, 
called  applied  "  brooches,  are  put  together  with  a 
foundation  of  bronze,  a  thin  enriched  plate  of  gold 
or  silver  gilt  laid  over  this,  and  a  raised  rim  soldered 
on  to  give  the  saucer  appearance.  Fig.  42,  a  round 
brooch  of  gold,  which  once  had  a  stone  set  in  the 
centre,  in  the  Museum  at  Copenhagen,  gives  an  ex- 
ample of  the  fine  gold  work  executed  in  the  North 
during  the  Viking  period.  A  round  pewter  brooch 
in  the  Guildhall  Museum,  London,  aninchand  three 
quarters  in  diameter,  also  of  a  late  period,  is  worth 
recording  as  the  use  of  this  material  is  rare  in  the 
period  (fig.  43). 

Fanciful  shapes  are  adopted  at  times  instead  of 
the  circular  one,  and  a  favourite  pattern,  probably 
Gothic  in  its  origin,  is  that  of  a  bird,  in  aspect  some- 
times resembling  a  parrot,  though  as  a  rule  dignified 
by  the  name  of  a  falcon  or  eagle.  Such  brooches 
are  fairly  common  in  the  Teutonic  cemeteries  ;  they 
are  mostly  quite  small,  like  the  two  shown  at  the. 
right-hand  side  of  fig.  44,  but  a  few  are  very  hand- 
some, the  finest  being  to  all  appearance  of  Gothic 
manufacture.  One  found  near  Ravenna  is  preserved 
in  the  Germanic  Museum  at  Nuremberg,  and  is 
shown  in  fig.  45.  TheCluny  Museum  at  Paris  boasts 

138 


PLATE  XII 


PLATE  XIII 


SAFETY-PIN  FIBULA 


one  that  was  found  at  Valence  d'Agen  in  the  Visi- 
gothic  district  of  Toulouse,  and  a  counterpart  to  this 
is  in  the  Archaeological  Museum  at  Madrid,  and  was 
discovered  in  the  once  Visigothic  district  between 
Saragossa  and  Madrid. 

The  fibula  of  the  third  or  safety-pin  "  type  has 
been  made  the  subject  of  more  archaeological  studies 
than  any  similar  object,  and  it  is  not  a  little  remark- 
able that  after  an  existence,  if  not  a  continuous 
history,  of  some  three  thousand  years,  it  has  been 
revived  in  quite  modern  times  in  the  very  form  in 
which  it  made  its  first  appearance  in  the  antique 
Mediterranean  world.  If  we  look  over  a  heap  of 
the  common  safety-pins  of  modern  commerce  we 
shall  soon  find  one  that  consists  of  nothing  but  a 
single  length  of  wire  that  can  be  straightened  out 
till  it  is  again  what  it  was  at  first,  a  long  pin  with 
a  point  but  with  no  head.  Such  a  pin  was  the 
substitute  in  the  earliest  age  of  metal  for  the  neo- 
lithic pin  of  bone  or  the  still  more  primitive  thorn, 
with  which  Tacitus  tells  us  the  Germans  of  the 
Hinterland  fastened  their  clothing.  To  prevent 
such  a  pin  from  slipping  out,  the  device  of  bending 
or  doubling  the  upper  part  of  it  over  and  giving  it 
a  catch  round  the  point  where  it  projected  through 
the  stuff  would  naturally  present  itself,  and  such 

139 


THE  LADY'S  PARURE 


a  catch  could  be  undone  when  the  pin  was  to  be 
withdrawn,  and  remain  as  a  sort  of  loop  to  catch 
the  point  again  when  it  was  reinserted.  A  recog- 
nition of  the  properties  of  hammered  metal  wire 
would  suggest  giving  a  spiral  turn  to  the  shank  of 
the  pin  instead  of  a  simple  bend  where  it  was 
doubled  over,  and  this  would  secure  elasticity  and 
keep  the  catch  always  pressed  against  the  pin  just 
above  the  point.  A  glance  at  the  simplest  pro- 
curable modern  safety-pin  will  make  this  clear. 

This  is  the  starting-point  of  fibula  development. 
It  is  usual  to  call  the  half  of  the  original  pin,  that 
is  doubled  over  and  shows  above  the  stuff,  the  bow, 
because,  if  it  be  in  some  degree  arched,  it  gives 
room  for  the  bunch  of  stuff  beneath  it.  The  part 
where  the  bend  or  the  spiral  turn  comes  is  called 
the  head,  and  the  point  and  the  catch  come  to- 
gether at  the  foot.  Alike  in  its  bow,  its  head,  and 
its  foot,  the  early  fibula  passes  through  many  modi- 
fications, that  have  been  worked  out  from  the  typo- 
logical point  of  view  by  writers  such  as  Tischler, 
Hildebrand,  Montelius,  and  Almgren.  All  we  have 
to  deal  with  here  are  those  changes  which  occurred 
just  before  or  during  the  migration  period,  that  is 
to  say  from  about  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  cen- 
tury A.D.  onwards.    From  the  present  point  of  view 

140 


FIBULA  DEVELOPMENT 

the  changes  effected  in  the  head  are  of  the  most  im- 
portance. An  epoch-making  innovation  had  been 
introduced  in  the  La  Tene  period  before  the  Chris- 
tian era,  according  to  which  the  turns  in  the  spiral 
were  multiplied  and  were  made  to  correspond  in 
number  and  therefore  in  lateral  projection  on  the 
two  sides  of  the  shank.  Fig.  49  shows  a  fine  ex- 
ample in  the  Museum  at  Innsbruck.  In  the  third 
century  a.d.  the  spirals  were  so  multiplied  as  to 
project  like  the  cross  stroke  of  a  T,  and  then  they 
needed  a  central  axis,  which  had  to  be  finished  at 
each  end  with  a  knob  to  prevent  it  from  coming  out, 
or  the  coils  from  slipping  over  the  end  of  it.  Con- 
structive reasons  also  led  to  the  use  of  a  third  knob 
in  the  centre  of  the  coils  in  a  line  with  the  bow.  In 
the  fourth  century  the  provincial  Romans,  with 
practical  good  sense,  dropped  the  spiral  coils  and 
hinged  a  pin  at  the  back  of  the  head  like  that  of  a 
modern  brooch,  while  for  decorative  reasons  they 
preserved  the  T  form  and  the  three  knobs. 

In  this  way  was  produced  the  familiar  late- Roman 
cross-bow  fibula,  that  is  of  not  uncommon  occur- 
rence in  Germanic  as  well  as  Roman  graves.  Fine 
examples  in  gold  have  come  to  light  in  the  former, 
and  one,  now  lost,  was  in  the  tomb  of  Childeric  the 
Frank  (cLute,  p.  30).    Fig  50  shows  an  example  at 

141 


THE  LADY'S  PARURE 

Trieste.  This  plan  of  dispensing  with  the  spiral 
did  not  however  commend  itself  to  the  Teutonic 
craftsmen  who  were  at  the  same  epoch  feeling  their 
way  towards  those  modifications  of  the  fibula  which 
gave  it  later  on  its  distinctively  German  character. 
They  not  only  retained  the  spirals  but  made  two  or 
even  three  rows  of  them,  and  as  these  were  genuine 
spirals  all  connected  together  and  coiled  out  of  the 
same  length  of  wire  they  naturally  needed  a  sort  of 
framework  for  their  support,  the  projecting  parts  of 
which  came  to  be  furnished  in  their  turn  with  knobs. 
No  sooner  however  was  this  complicated  apparatus 
evolved  than  it  occurred  to  other  craftsmen  that  it 
should  be  hidden,  and  this  idea  led  to  the  develop- 
ment of  covering  plates,  behind  which  the  spiral  coils 
were  concealed,  though  the  projecting  knobs  were 
allowed  to  peep  out  beyond  the  edges  of  the  plate. 
For  constructive  reasons  which  need  not  be  detailed 
this  plate  took  sometimes  a  semicircular,  sometimes 
a  square  form,  and  this  difference  assumes  ethno- 
logical importance  when  it  is  observed  that  as  a  rule 
the  square  head  belongs  to  the  north  of  Europe  and 
also  to  the  north  of  England,  while  the  semicircular 
one  is  rather  South  German  in  its  affinities.  Modi- 
fications in  the  region  of  the  foot  were  at  the  same 
time,  or  at  an  earlier  time,  in  progress,  but  these, 

142 


FIBULA  DEVELOPMENT 


though  a  great  deal  has  been  written  about  them, 
are  not  so  important  artistically  as  the  changes  in 
the  head. 

A  change  in  technique  accompanies  the  change 
in  form  and  arrangement.  The  earlier  fibulae,  up 
to  and  including  the  characteristic  fourth-century 
Roman  ''cross-bow"  form,  though  they  might  be 
cast  in  moulds,  still  kept  a  bar  shape  which  recalled 
the  fact  that  the  piece  had  once  been  twisted  up  out 
of  a  single  length  of  wire.  Now,  in  the  same  fourth 
century,  a  complete  change  is  made,  and  the  whole 
piece,  or  the  parts  of  it,  in  the  form  that  has  been 
arrived  at  for  the  head  and  foot,  is  cut  out  in  sheet 
silver,  the  bow  being  suitably  strengthened  or 
added  in  another  piece,  and  the  mechanism  of  pin, 
hinge,  catch,  etc.,  being  attached  to  the  underside 
(fig.  5 1 ).  Later  on  the  whole  piece  is  reproduced 
in  a  more  massive  form  by  casting,  the  spirals 
finally  disappear  and  are  replaced  by  a  hinge,  and 
to  all  intents  and  purposes  we  have  before  us  a 
plate  fibula  of  a  special  shape,  that  recalls  however, 
in  its  bow,  foot,  head  and  projecting  knobs,  the  re- 
markable history  through  which  it  has  passed. 

The  various  types  of  these  matured  cast  fibulae  of 
the  Teutonic  period,  their  relations  in  point  of  time, 
and  their  distribution  among  the  different  sections 

143 


THE  LADY'S  PARURE 


of  the  name,  are  subject  for  a  volume,  and  nothing 
can  be  attempted  here  except  the  presentation  of  a 
few  prominent  types,  which  will  at  any  rate  give  an 
idea  of  the  wealth  of  material  yielded  up  by  the 
countless  Teutonic  cemeteries  scattered  over  the 
length  and  breadth  of  Europe. 

Figs.  49  to  54  illustrate  the  sketch  of  the  probable 
development  of  the  Teutonic  fibula  which  has  just 
been  given.  Fig.  52  shows  a  group  of  Roman 
bronze  fibulae  at  Mainz,  in  which  can  be  discerned 
embryo  forms  that  were  afterwards  to  be  worked  out 
into  the  extended  spirals,  the  knobs,  the  T  shape, 
the  variously  shaped  plates  covering  the  springs, 
that  appear  later  on  in  the  more  pronounced  ''cross- 
bow," round-headed,  and  square-headed  fibulae  al- 
ready noticed.  The  multiplication  of  the  spiral  coils, 
and  the  corresponding  development  of  the  frame- 
work finished  everywhere  with  projecting  knobs,  is 
well  shownin  the  famous  early  Germanic  fibulaefrom 
Sackrau  in  the  Museum  at  Breslau.  The  three  rows 
of  spirals  are  quite  exceptional.  The  back  view  of 
the  one  with  two  rows  is  instructive  (figs.  53  and  54). 
It  will  be  seen  that  by  this  time  the  foot  has  become 
a  more  or  less  kite-shaped  plate  with  the  catch  sol- 
dered  on  underneath.  The  sudden  change  to  the 
fibula  cut  out  in  a  sheet  of  metal,  with  a  head  that 

144 


PLATE  XIV 


FIBULA  DEVELOPMENT 

conceals  all  the  mechanism  but  the  knobs,  has  been 
illustrated  in  fig.  51.  These  fibulae,  in  the  Ethno- 
logical Museum  at  Berlin,  come  from  Kertch  in 
southern  Russia,  the  region  to  which  the  eyes  of  all 
investigators  into  the  antiquities  of  the  migration 
period  are  at  present  directed.  Early  examples  of 
the  cast  fibula  of  the  matured  type  are  those  in  the 
second  hoard  from  Szilagy  Somlyo  in  Hungary 
(ante,  p.  28)  dating  probably  from  the  Visigothic 
period  at  the  latter  part  of  the  fourth  century,  or  as 
Hampel  believes  from  the  fifth.  There  are  some 
(fig.  46)  in  which  the  head  shows  a  step-like  outline, 
and  these  may  be  regarded  as  preparing  the  way  for 
the  regular  square  headed  fibula  so  common  in 
Scandinavia  and  in  our  own  country.  Figs.  47  and 
48  and  55  to  60  exhibit  some  specimens  of  the 
round  and  square  headed  fibulae  from  different  lo- 
calities and  periods,  as  well  as  some  less  normal 
forms.  That  from  Trento  in  the  Tyrol  with  the 
projecting  arms  is  a  local  form  almost  confined  to 
the  vicinity,  and  is  of  Lombard  date  and  proven- 
ance. The  specimens  from  Kiev  in  south-western 
Russia  are  quite  abnormal,  and  may  represent  the 
distinctive  style  of  some  of  the  Teutonic  tribes 
whose  art  has  not  yet  come  to  be  known.  It  will  be 
noticed  that  in  the  case  of  some  of  the  fibulae  shown 

145  10 


THE  LADY'S  PARURE 


on  this  Plate  XV  there  is  no  proper  head  and  foot, 
but  the  parts  on  each  side  of  the  bow  correspond. 

The  development  of  the  buckle  is  as  we  have  seen 
a  much  simpler  affair  than  that  of  the  brooch.  The 
illustration  fig.  32,  on  Plate  VIII,  shows  the  first 
step  in  this,  when  instead  of  the  band  being  fasten- 
ed round  the  metal  ring,  as  in  the  case  of  the  mod- 
ern strap,  a  metal  plate  is  bent  round  the  ring  and 
the  two  faces  of  the  plate  embrace  between  them 
the  end  of  the  band,  rivets  passing  through  the 
three  holding  all  firm.  That  the  upper  surface  of 
the  front  plate  should  be  ornamented  follows  as  a 
matter  of  course,  and  in  fact  the  enrichment  here 
becomes  only  less  sumptuous  and  varied  than  on 
the  fibula  itself.  The  piece  is  however  more  a 
thing  of  use  than  the  brooch,  in  that  as  the  fastening 
of  the  belt  it  has  to  be  strong  to  bear  what  might 
sometimes  be  a  powerful  strain,  and  it  is  generally 
of  heavier  make.  Whereas  the  finest  fibulae  are  of 
gold  or  silver  gilt  and  those  of  lesser  worth  of  silver 
or  of  cast  bronze,  the  usual  materials  for  the  buckle 
are  bronze  and  iron,  though  the  golden  buckle,  gener- 
ally on  a  small  scale,  is  not  infrequent.  The  bronze 
or  iron  plate  of  the  buckle  grows  to  a  great  size  and 
assumes  different  shapes,  but  the  handsome  look  of 
the  whole  piece  is  greatly  increased  by  the  addition 

146 


PLATE  XV 


57.  FIBULA  FROM  TRENTO. 
59.   FIBUL.^-:  FROM  KIEV. 


58.  FIBUL/E  FROM  KIEV,  RUSSIA. 
60.   FIBULA  FROM  KEMPSTON,  BEDS. 


THE  BUCKLE 


on  the  other  side  of  the  buckle  ring  of  a  second  plate 
corresponding  in  size  and  shape.  This  was  riveted 
on  to  the  belt  quite  independently  of  the  buckle,  but 
in  such  a  position  that  when  the  free  end  of  the 
belt  was  passed  through  the  buckle  ring  and  drawn 
up  tight,  the  complementary  plate  would  come  close 
up  to  the  latter.  Indeed,  as  will  be  seen  by  a  glance 
at  fig.  63,  the  edge  of  the  plate  is  indented,  so  as  to 
allow  the  end  of  the  tongue  of  the  buckle  that  pro- 
jects beyond  the  ring  to  fit  into  it.  It  is  rather 
puzzling  to  see  how  this  arrangement  would  work 
in  practice,  as  it  precludes  any  temporary  adjust- 
ment of  the  fastening  of  the  belt  with  a  view  to 
loosening  or  tightening  it.  The  lady  could  never 
have  taken  in  her  waistband  when  she  smartened 
herself  up  to  receive  callers,  nor  could  her  lord  have 
let  his  out  a  hole  or  two  after  one  of  those  huge 
meals,  which  the  more  delicately  bred  Roman  pro- 
vincials likeSidonius  Apollinaris  could  not  stomach. 

With  the  buckle  proper  and  its  own  plate  and  the 
complementary  one  is  sometimes  found  a  square 
plaque  of  the  same  material  and  pattern.  This 
seems  to  have  been  fastened  at  the  back  of  the 
belt.  The  material  of  the  belt  itself  may  have  been 
leather  or  folded  linen. 

The  most  remarkable  feature  about  these  Teu- 

147 


THE  LADY'S  PARURE 

tonic  buckles  is  the  enormous  size  and  weight  of 
the  iron  ones  which  have  been  found  in  Prankish 
and  Burgundian  graves.  The  largest  which  the 
writer  has  actually  measured  is  one  found  in  a 
Prankish  cemetery  near  the  church  of  St  Germain 
des  Pres  in  Paris,  and  now  preserved  at  the  Mus^e 
Carnavalet  It  is  fifteen  inches  long,  the  breadth, 
vertically,  of  the  buckle  ring  is  four  and  a  quarter 
inches  and  that  of  the  plate  attached  to  the  ring 
three  and  a  half.  The  tongue  is  seven-eighths  of 
an  inch  thick.  The  thickness  of  the  iron  plate,  so 
far  as  can  be  ascertained  in  its  corroded  state,  is 
rather  more  than  three-eighths  of  an  inch.  A  fine 
Burgundian  buckle  from  Petigny  in  the  Museum  at 
Pribourg  in  Switzerland  shown  in  fig.  63  is  fifteen 
inches  long  over  all  and  three  and  a  half  inches 
wide  at  the  broadest  part  of  the  plate. 

Of  the  buckles  illustrated,  figs.  61  and  62  are 
Gothic  pieces  from  Kiev  and  Odessa  respectively, 
the  bird's  head  on  fig.  62  being  especially  Gothic. 
Pig.  63  is  the  large  iron  buckle  at  Pribourg  noticed 
in  the  text,  and  fig.  64  shows  bronze  buckles  at 
Boulogne  of  Prankish  provenance.  The  complete 
specimen  was  found  in  a  woman's  grave.  The  fine 
golden  buckle  set  with  garnets  at  Stuttgart  (fig. 
65)  is  so  like  the  still  finer  piece  from  Apahida  in 

148 


PLATE  XVI 


STRAP  ENDS,  CROSSES,  ETC. 


Hungary  that  it  is  probably  like  that  of  Gothic 
origin. 

Besides  the  big  buckle  that  fastened  the  belt, 
many  smaller  buckles  were  used  for  the  purpose  of 
attaching  objects  such  as  the  sword  or  a  pouch  or 
sporran  to  the  belt,  and  also  for  fastening  off  the 
ends  of  the  crossed  garters  or  the  straps  of  the 
shoes.  To  facilitate  the  passing  of  the  free  end  of 
the  belt  or  strap  through  the  ring  of  the  buckle  it 
was  customary  to  arm  it  with  a  metal  plate  or  tang, 
and  these  pieces,  as  a  rule  tastefully  ornamented, 
have  come  to  light  in  great  numbers.  See  fig. 
66,  which  shows  a  golden  tang  set  with  garnets 
at  Mainz,  of  Prankish  or  Alemannic  provenance, 
and  fig.  68,  where  we  see  three  characteristic  bronze 
strap  ends  in  a  provincial  museum  in  Hungary. 

Ornaments  of  metal  in  the  form  of  studs  or  ap- 
pliques were  often  applied  to  parts  of  the  attire,  and 
the  most  interesting  are  the  golden  crosses  which 
are  a  speciality  of  the  Lombards.  They  are  cut 
out  of  thin  gold  plates  and  have  holes  in  their  edges 
by  which  they  were  sewn  on  to  garments,  perhaps 
for  sepulchral  purposes.    See  fig.  67. 

The  ornaments  of  the  person  were  varied  and 
often  highly  artistic.  A  fine  golden  diadem  for  the 
head  set  with  garnets  has  recently  been  added  to 

149 


THE  LADY'S  PARURE 


the  Berlin  Museum  of  Ethnology  from  southern 
Russia.  It  is  however  unpublished  and  cannot  be 
figured  in  this  place.  Long  pins  for  the  hair,  or,  as 
has  been  suggested,  for  fastening  an  outer  cloak, 
have  ornamental  heads,  sometimes  figuring  birds. 

The  rings  for  the  neck,  the  arm,  and  the  finger 
take  many  forms.  A  gold  circlet  set  with  garnets 
formed  a  part  of  the  early  Sackrau  treasure  already 
noticed  and  is  shown  in  fig.  69.  A  collection  of 
neck  and  arm  rings  of  Scandinavian  origin  in  the 
Museum  at  Stockholm  is  given  in  fig.  70.  Fig.  71 
shows  a  finger  ring  of  gold  with  an  incised  design 
still  encircling  the  bone  of  the  finger  that  wore  it. 
It  is  at  Fribourg  and  was  found  in  1908  at  Lussy 
near  Romont. 

Of  all  personal  ornaments  apart  from  dress  fasten- 
ings the  most  popular  were  the  strings  of  variegated 
glass  beads  which  are  the  almost  constant  accom- 
paniment of  the  richer  female  interments. 

These  beads,  a  set  of  which  is  given  in  fig.  1 09,  on 
Plate  XXVI 1 1,  are  a  theme  by  themselves  and  have 
never  yet  been  the  subject  of  a  really  searching  in- 
vestigation. They  are  widely  dispersed,  but  were 
perhaps  specially  favoured  by  the  peoples  along  the 
Rhine  and  by  the  Teutonic  conquerors  of  our  own 
island.    In  the  recently  excavated  cemetery  at  Ips- 

150 


PLATE  XVII 


VARIEGATED  GLASS  BEADS 


wich,  in  1 15  graves  32  bead  necklaces  were  found, 
the  largest  containing  108  beads.  They  are  how- 
ever not  of  Teutonic  manufacture  but  were  certainly- 
imported  products,  and  they  do  not  belong  specially  to 
our  period,  for  they  were  popular  in  Roman  circles  and 
equally  beloved  in  the  earlier  Celtic  period.  Their 
place  of  origin  is  not  definitely  known,  but  Dr.  Kisa 
in  his  recent  work  on  Glass  in  Antiquity  is  inclined 
to  seek  it  at  Alexandria.  Though  he  admits  that 
beads  of  the  kind  were  made  by  the  Romans,  even 
in  Britain,  he  states  it  as  his  conviction  that  ''these 
ornaments,  equally  beloved  by  the  barbarians  of  the 
north  and  by  the  negroes  of  the  east  and  west 
coasts  of  Africa,  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases  were 
exported  from  the  great  emporium  of  world  industry 
Alexandria." 

Dr.  Evans  and  others  have  suggested  that  they 
might  have  been  made  in  Palestine  or  Syria,  and 
in  any  case  Syrian  merchants  may  have  been  active 
in  the  traffic  through  which  they  were  diffused  over 
the  western  world.  The  beads  are  of  many  different 
sizes,  shapes,  and  makes,  the  technique  of  the  most 
elaborate  being  of  the  kind  used  in  the  Roman  so- 
called  mille/iori gXdiSS  that  has  been  revived  in  more 
modern  times  at  Venice.  Beads  of  amber  are  very 
common,  especially  in  our  own  country,  and  in 

151 


THE  LADY'S  PARURE 


Kent  the  graves  have  yielded  up  many  formed  of 
amethyst. 

With  the  necklet  may  be  taken  the  pendant, 
which  often  formed  its  finish,  as  in  the  case  of  that 
shown  in  fig.  109.  These  small  objects  are  very 
numerous  and  often,  especially  in  our  own  country, 
of  extreme  delicacy  and  beauty.  There  is  no  par- 
ticular object  in  attempting  a  classification,  as  the 
charm  of  pieces  of  the  kind  largely  resides  in  their 
quaint  individuality.  The  question  how  far  they 
were  worn  as  amulets  or  charms  has  been  raised, 
and  will  meet  us  again  in  connection  with  the  crys- 
tal balls,  which  some  regard  as  pendants,  though 
they  would  be  rather  heavy  ones. 

Ear  pendants  form  a  large  and  interesting  class 
of  ornamental  objects,  and  in  this  form  many  ex- 
quisite examples  of  fine  goldsmiths'  work  have  been 
preserved  to  us.  One  particular  kind  is  very  widely 
diffused,  and  these  pieces  were  probably  like  the 
beads  exported  from  some  one  or  two  centres  of 
manufacture.  Such  things  are  both  portable  and 
in  a  high  degree  attractive.  The  objects  in  question 
are  called  on  the  Continent  basket  earrings  "  and 
consist  in  a  tiny  open-work  cell  of  gold,  within  which 
some  have  imagined  little  tufts  of  scented  wool  en- 
shrined, suspended  by  a  circlet  of  gold  wire  from  the 

152 


PLATE  XVIII 


69 


69.  NECK-KING  IN  TREASURE  FROM  SACK-  70.  NECK  AND  ARM  RINGS  AT  STOCKHOLM. 
RAU,  BRESLAU  MUSEUM. 

71.  FINGER  RING  ON  BONE  OF  FINGER  AT  72.  MOUNT  OF  FOUCH  FRO.M  HERPES, 
FRIBOURG.  FRANCE. 


POUCH  AND  CHATELAINE 


lobe  of  the  ear.  The  flat  cover  of  the  little  basket 
is  often  set  with  gems.  Instead  of  this,  hollow 
polyhedrons  of  gold  jewelled  in  each  facet  are  some- 
times mounted  and  worn  in  similar  fashion.  A 
specially  Hungarian  type  of  ear  pendant  is  of  a 
pyramidal  form  built  up  largely  of  hollow  spheres  of 
gold. 

It  was  the  custom  among  both  sexes  to  wear 
suspended  from  the  belt  a  sort  of  pouch  or  sporran, 
in  which  small  personal  possessions  were  kept  ready 
to  the  hand,  and  the  ladies  sometimes  carried 
chatelaines  to  which  might  be  attached  keys,  a 
knife,  and  other  objects.  Jewelled  mounts  of  the 
pouch  are  occasionally  found  (see  fig.  72),  and  a  little 
heap  of  the  contents  sometimes  shows  where  the 
pouch  had  lain.  The  chatelaine  has  been  pre- 
served in  some  good  examples  at  Worms  shown 
in  fig.  73.  Perforated  discs  of  artistic  patterns 
were  suspended  from  the  belt  and  objects  of  various 
kinds  were  evidently  fastened  to  the  discs.  Some 
of  these  show  obvious  signs  of  wear  caused  by  this. 
Fig.  74  gives  a  good  example  from  BaseL  A  more 
perfect  one,  with  the  remains  of  a  bone  or  ivory 
ring  in  which  it  was  mounted,  is  at  Bonn,  and  is 
shown  in  fig.  75. 

In  viewof  the  longhair  of  Teutonic  braves  as  well 

153 


THE  LADY'S  PARURE 


as  that  of  their  spouses,  and  of  the  tendency  of  the 
former  to  the  hirsute,  the  shears,  the  comb,  and  the 
tweezers  for  depilation  were  objects  of  importance 
and  frequently  occur  in  the  tombs  of  both  sexes. 
The  shears  are  of  the  pattern  used  still  for  clipping 
sheep.  The  comb,  in  forms  taken  over  from  the 
Romans,  is  as  a  rule  very  common,  though  appar- 
ently rare  in  Burgundian  quarters.  It  was  made 
of  bone  or  ivory  but  sometimes  also  of  wood,  and 
its  absence  in  certain  regions  has  been  explained 
on  the  supposition  that  the  more  perishable  material 
had  there  been  in  fashion.  The  combs  are  some- 
times ornamented  with  carving  but  as  a  rule  the 
enrichment  consists  in  little  more  than  incised  cir- 
cles. The  best  ones  have  a  double  row  of  teeth, 
and  an  ingenious  casing  is  sometimes  provided. 
The  specimen  at  Brussels  figured  in  fig.  76  is  one 
of  the  most  complete  in  existence. 

Little  bronze  workboxes  and  caskets  of  other 
kinds  sometimes  occur,  and  are  well  represented  in 
the  Faussett  collection  at  Liverpool.  Very  large 
beads  of  variegated  glass,  amber,  or  rock-crystal, 
have  probably  been  used  as  spindle  whorls. 


PLATE  XX 


77.  CRYSTAL  BALL  FOUND  IN  THE  GRAVE 
OF  CHILDERIC. 


79.  FLINT  AND  STEEL  FROM  LUSSY,  FRI- 
BOURG. 


OF  COPENHAGEN, 


78.  KEYS   IN  MUSEUM 
VIKING  PERIOD. 

80.  IRON  SPIT,  MUSEUM  AT  WORMS. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


SEPULCHRAL  OBJECTS  NOT  IN  PERSONAL  USE 

Coins,  spoons,  crystal  balls,  etc. ;  keys,  strike-a-lights,  etc.  Vessels  ; 
sepulchral  urns  and  other  receptacles  of  clay,  mounted  wooden 
buckets,  bronze  bowls,  vases  of  glass.    Horse  furniture. 

A  BRIEF  chapter  under  the  above  heading  may  serve 
to  complete  the  inventory  of  the  more  important 
classes  of  objects  composing  Teutonic  tomb  furni- 
ture. 

The  archaeological  importance  of  coins  as  help- 
ing to  fix  dates  has  already  been  noticed  {ante,  p. 
27).  They  were  used  however  very  commonly  as 
ornamental  pendants,  as  illustrated  in  fig.  109,  and 
for  the  same  purpose  were  rudely  copied  in  the  form 
of  the  so-termed  bracteates.  '  These  bracteates, 
or  barbarous  imitations  of  Roman  or  Byzantine 
coins,  are  a  speciality  of  the  Scandinavian  regionand 
some  specimens  will  be  found  figured  in  fig.  115, 
Plate  XXIX.    They  occur  also,  much  more  rarely, 

155 


OTHER  SEPULCHRAL  OBJECTS 


inour  own  countryand  in  the  continental  cemeteries, 
but  Dr.  Bernard  Salin  insists  that  all  bracteates  are 
Scandinavian,  or  due  to  Scandinavian  influence. 

Among  the  most  puzzling  objects  of  a  miscellane- 
ous kind  are  the  polished  spheres  of  rock  crystal, 
and  the  silver  spoons  that  have  the  peculiarity  that 
their  bowls  are  perforated  with  holes  like  those  of  a 
sugar-sifter.  They  are  mentioned  here  together 
for  Mr.  Reginald  Smith  thinks  they  are  connected, 
as  in  Anglo-Saxon  graves  the  crystal  sphere  has 
sometimes  been  found  in  the  bowl  of  the  spoon. 
The  ascription  of  magical  properties  to  balls  of  rock 
crystal  may  explain  their  appearance  in  tombs. 
It  is  diflficult  to  see  what  special  connection  the  per- 
forated spoons  may  have  had  with  them,  and  what 
the  actual  use  of  the  spoon  can  have  been.  The 
most  recent  suggestion  is  due  to  that  very  sagacious 
archaeologist,  Dr.  Posta,  of  Kolozsvar  in  Hungary, 
who  thinks  the  holes  may  be  merely  decorative. 
The  occurrence  in  some  graves  both  at  home  and 
abroad  of  ''Cypraea"  shells  that  are  supposed  to  have 
come  from  the  Indian  Ocean  is  an  interesting  fact 
as  bearing  upon  early  traffic,  and  these  outland 
objects,  like  the  crystal  balls,  may  have  been  used 
as  charms. 

The  crystal  ball,  fig.  77,  about  an  inch  and  a  half 

156 


CRYSTAL  BALLS,  KEYS,  ETC. 


in  diameter,  was  found  in  the  tomb  of  Childeric  the 
Frank.   Several  have  come  to  light  in  Kent. 

Keys,  and  strike-a-lights  or  flint  and  steel,  are 
domestic  objects  often  found  in  tombs,  and  an  in- 
teresting fact  regarding  the  former  came  into  view 
quite  recently  on  the  excavation  of  some  Jutish 
graves  on  the  down  above  Folkestone.  The  skele- 
ton of  a  woman,  now  preserved  in  the  Museum  of 
that  town,  was  found  with  the  left  hand  holding  a 
key,  and  the  unique  exhibit  remains  to  testify  to  the 
housewifely  instincts  of  the  remote  ancestresses  of 
the  women  of  modern  Britain.  A  curious  '*uni- 
cum  "  exists  in  the  Paulus  Museum  at  Worms  in 
the  form  of  an  iron  roasting-spit  four  feet  in  length. 
Fig.  78  shows  a  collection  of  keys  of  the  Viking 
period  in  the  Museum  at  Copenhagen  ;  fig.  79  a 
flint  and  steel  found  together  at  Lussy,  Canton 
Fribourg  ;  and  fig.  80  the  spit  at  Worms.  We  are 
reminded  of  what  we  are  told  of  Charles  the  Great, 
that  roasted  game  was  brought  in  on  spits  at  his 
daily  meal. 

The  category  of  Vessels is  an  extensive  one. 
These  occur  frequently  in  the  materials  bronze, 
glass,  wood,  and  clay,  and  horns  have  also  been  found 
as  at  Taplow,  Bucks.  The  sepulchral  urn  of  burnt 
clay,  rude  as  may  be  its  fabric,  deserves  to  take 

157 


OTHER  SEPULCHRAL  OBJECTS 

pride  of  place,  as  preserving  the  last  poor  relics  of 
many  a  mighty  warrior  and  winsome  dame.  These 
cinerary  urns,  even  when  no  ashes  are  actually  con- 
tained in  them,  can  generally  be  distinguished  by 
their  size  from  the  smaller  vessels  of  similar  make 
placed  with  inhumated  bodies  and  possibly  contain- 
ing, or  perpetuating  the  idea  of,  actual  food  intended 
for  the  use  of  the  defunct.  There  is  a  striking  simi- 
larity between  the  cremation  urns  that  occur  in  the 
Anglian  districts  of  northern  and  eastern  England 
and  urns  used  for  similar  purposes  in  parts  of  the 
Continent  opposite  our  own  shores,  and  preserved 
in  collections  like  those  at  Hanover  and  Leiden. 
Kemble  drew  attention  to  this  long  ago  and  the  com- 
parisons have  lately  been  worked  out  by  Dr.  Krom. 
It  is  a  peculiarity  of  a  large  number  of  these  urns  that 
the  sides  have  been  forced  out  in  parts  while  the 
clay  was  wet  so  as  to  form  bosses  or  flutes.  They 
are  hand-formed,  about  seven  to  ten  inches  high, 
and  are  commonly  ornamented  with  incised  lines  or 
withsimple  geometrical  patterns  made  by  impressing 
small  wooden  stamps  upon  the  wet  clay.  Those 
in  which  cremated  bones  were  actually  found  are  of 
course  the  most  interesting.  Fig.  8i  shows  a 
characteristic  specimen  from  Shropham  in  Norfolk. 
It  is  ten  inches  high. 

158 


PLATE  XXI 


CINERARY  URN  FROM  SHROPHAM,  NOR-         82.  JUG  FROM  HERPES,  FRANCE. 
FOLK,  IN  BRITISH  MUSEUM. 

POTS   FROM    CHAKNAY   (taLLEr)  AND         84.  BRONZE  VASE  CONTAINING  HAZEL  NUTS, 
NORTHERN  FRANCE.  FROM  KENT,  IN  BRITISH  MUSEUM. 


VESSELS  OF  CLAY,  BRONZE,  ETC. 


The  smaller  non-cinerary  urns,  which  may  be 
termed  food-vessels,  are  some  four  or  five  inches 
high  and  are  ornamented  in  the  same  way  as  the 
larger  ones.  There  are  certain  differences  among 
those  from  divers  regions,  which  in  the  case  of  the 
cemeteries  of  ancient  Gaul  M.  Barriere-Flavy  has 
tried  to  particularize,  but  the  general  family  likeness 
among  them  all  is  far  more  conspicuous  than  are 
the  distinctions.  Some  Prankish  vessels  found  at 
Herpes  and  now  in  the  British  Museum  are  better 
made  than  those  in  our  own  country,  see  fig.  82. 
Of  the  two  in  fig.  83  the  high  one  is  Burgundian 
from  Charnay,  the  smaller  Prankish. 

Cast  bronze  bowls  are  a  Rhineland  speciality,  and 
one  of  the  best  single  collections  of  them  is  that  in  the 
Paulus  Museum  at  Worms.  Prom  this  region  they 
seem  to  have  been  imported  into  our  own  country, 
and  similar  specimens  are  found  here,  especially  in 
Kentish  graves.  One  of  the  finest  extant  examples, 
a  tall  vase  on  a  stem,  was  found  in  the  tumulus  at 
Taplow  and  is  now  in  the  British  Museum.  The 
specimen  from  Kent,  ten  inches  in  diameter,  shown 
in  fig.  84,  is  specially  interesting  as  it  contains  hazel- 
nuts, and  thus  gives  substance  to  the  surmise  that 
the  vessels  generally  contained  offerings  of  food. 
This  has  been  assumed  also  in  the  case  of  the  wooden 

159 


OTHER  SEPULCHRAL  OBJECTS 

buckets,  with  mountings  of  bronze  and  occasionally 
of  iron,  which  are  sometimes  found  accompanying 
interments.  The  fashion  of  these  vessels  was  taken 
over  from  earlier  Celtic  times.  Fig.  85  gives  one 
of  a  rare  character  and  singularly  complete,  in  the 
museum  at  Rochester. 

Among  the  most  beautiful  and  interesting  objects 
found  in  the  tombs  are  the  drinking  cups  and  other 
vessels  of  glass.  It  has  been  conjectured  on  good 
grounds  that  they  were  in  most  cases  manufactured 
in  the  Rhineland  or  in  the  valley  of  the  Meuse,  and 
exported  thence  to  other  regions.  Excellent  ex- 
amples are  found  in  the  tombs  of  southern  Britain, 
and  the  iridescence  often  gives  them  great  charm  of 
colour.  A  Rhineland  vase,  with  the  curious  claw- 
shaped  projections  on  which  so  much  has  been  said, 
is  given  in  fig.  86,  and  a  similar  one,  but  found  in 
Kent,  is  seen  in  fig.  87.  The  drinking  cups  often 
have  the  tumbler  "  form,  in  that  they  are  rounded 
below  and  could  not  be  set  down  while  the  liquor 
was  still  in  them. 

Even  this  very  summary  notice  of  the  embarrass- 
ingly numerous  items  of  Teutonic  tomb  furniture 
cannot  be  suffered  to  close  without  one  word  on  the 
subject  of  horse  trappings,  which  are  occasionally 
met  with  in  the  graves.    The  burial  of  the  horse 

160 


PLATE  XXII 


HORSE  FURNITURE 


with  his  rider  is,  as  we  saw  before,  practised,  but 
only  sporadically,  and  the  same  applies  to  the  de- 
position in  the  tomb  of  articles  of  equestrian  use  such 
as  bits,  parts  of  bridles,  stirrups  and  spurs.  The 
latter  at  first  occur  singly,  the  idea  being  that  the 
single  spur  was  worn  on  the  left  heel,  so  that  the 
touch  of  it  on  the  horse's  flank  might  turn  him  to  the 
right  and  thus  keep  the  rider's  left  or  shielded  side 
directed  towards  the  foe.  Stirrups  only  seem  to 
have  come  into  use  in  the  Viking  period,  and  with 
them  seems  to  have  been  introduced  the  normal 
modern  fashion  of  the  double  spur.  Fig.  88  shows  a 
Viking  stirrup  in  the  British  Museum  and  an  earlier 
single  spur  of  Frankish  provenance  in  the  Museum 
at  Mainz. 


II 


CHAPTER  IX 


IS  THE  ART  OF  THE  PERIOD  ROMAN  OR  TEUTONIC  ? 

The  early  history  of  the  Teutonic  area  as  bearing  on  this  question. 

Riegl's  Late  Roman  Artistic  Industry  analysed.  General 

probabilities  of  the  situation. 
Importance  of  inlaid  gold  ornaments  ,  their  probable  origin  and 

history  ;  their  distribution  in  the  Teutonic  area. 

The  previous  chapters  have  been  occupied  for  the 
most  part  with  demonstration  rather  than  with  ar- 
gument. It  was  necessary  to  present  the  archae- 
ological and  historical  facts  that  lie  at  the  founda- 
tion of  the  subject,  before  these  facts  could  be  used 
as  data  for  antiquarian  discussion.  In  the  second 
chapter  and  those  from  the  sixth  to  the  eighth,  some 
idea  was  given  of  the  different  classes  of  objects, 
first  from  the  churches,  then  from  the  treasure  caches, 
and  lastly  from  the  cemeteries,  which  represent  the 
art  of  the  migration  period,  while  in  the  fourth  chap- 
ter an  unavoidably  tedious  review  of  the  migrations 
putusinpossession  of  certain  indispensable  facts  and 

162 


THEORIES  OF  ORIGIN 

dates  relating  to  the  Germans  themselves.  Some 
indication  was  also  given  of  the  archaeological  ques- 
tions of  date  and  provenance  which  offer  themselves 
for  discussion  when  the  antiquarian  and  historical 
facts  are  confronted.  For  only  one  archaeological 
statement  of  a  general  kind  has  anythinglike  finality 
been  claimed.  That  is  the  statement  that  a  common 
Germanic  character  attaches  to  the  objects  which 
form  the  subject  matter  of  our  study.  All  modern 
experts  in  this  branch  of  investigation  will  probably 
agree  to  this,  but  to  explain  the  reason  of  this  com- 
mon character  is  a  very  different  matter. 

There  are  two  simple  and  plausible  theories  either 
of  which  would  be  satisfactory.  There  is  the  the- 
ory that  the  Germans  themselves  created  these  ar- 
tistic forms  and  fashions  while  they  still  lived  more 
or  less  united  in  northern  Europe,  and  that  each  one 
of  the  peoples  that  hived  off  from  the  main  swarm 
in  the  migration  period  carried  with  it  to  its  new 
seats  the  common  tradition.  There  is  the  theory 
on  the  other  side  that  the  Germans  did  practically 
nothing  at  all,  but  that  the  various  branches  of  the 
name  were  supplied  from  big  factories  within  the 
Roman  empire.  For  reasons  that  will  presently 
appear,  neither  of  these  contrasted  theories  can  be 
accepted,  and  the  truth  of  the  matter  will  probably 

163 


IS  THE  ART  TEUTONIC  ? 


be  found  to  lie  somewhere  between  the  extremes 
thus  indicated.  The  thesis  of  these  chapters  may 
for  the  sake  of  clearness  be  briefly  stated  in  the 
following  terms. 

I.  At  no  period  were  the  Germans  by  tradition 
and  genius  so  utterly  devoid  of  aesthetic  predilec- 
tions that  they  had  to  depend  for  all  their  art  upon 
the  foreigner. 

II.  The  particular  period  that  preceded  the  mi- 
grations was  not  one  in  which  Teutonic  feeling  in 
art  manifested  itself  in  any  strength,  and  the  inde- 
pendent creation  in  the  north  of  the  forms  and 
fashions  of  the  art  in  question  was  not  then  pos- 
sible.^ 

III.  The  epoch  of  the  migrations,  involving  as 
it  did  a  great  stirring  of  Teutonic  life,  rendered  it 
possible  for  the  native  artistic  feeling  of  the  Ger- 
mans to  work  upon  the  various  elements,  vernacu- 
lar and  foreign,  existing  in  the  world  of  the  time, 
and  to  evolve  from  these  the  art  of  the  Teutonic 
treasure  deposits  and  cemeteries. 

If  the  first  of  these  statements  be  true,  we  are 
forbidden  to  believe  that,  as  some  archaeologists 

^  For  one  thing,  the  most  characteristic  of  these  forms  and  fashions, 
the  garnet  inlays,  could  not  possibly  have  been  invented  in  the  north 
of  Europe  in  the  pre-migration  period. 

164 


EARLY  GERMAN  CULTURE 


assume,  the  Germans  at  the  beginning  of  the  mi- 
gration period  were  in  matters  of  culture  and  art 
purely  receptive.  Readers  of  the  Germania  of  Taci- 
tus are  tempted  to  figure  to  themselves  a  gloomy- 
Hinterland  behind  the  semi-civilized  zone  along  the 
Rhine,  where  the  arts  of  life  were  unknown,  and 

**  Where  wild  in  woods  the  noble  savage  ran 
but  Otto  Tischler,  an  archaeologist  rather  disposed  to 
favour  the  Roman  view,  expressly  warns  his  hearers 
against  any  such  supposition.  "  We  must  be  care- 
ful,'' he  says,  not  to  rate  too  low  the  culture  of  the 
north  German  peoples  in  the  first  centuries  of  the 
Christian  era.  The  tombs  have  shown  that  these 
northern  tribes,  which  had  fixed  seats  and  practised 
agriculture,  were  much  richer  than  those  of  the  south 
and  west,  about  whom  the  classical  writers  give  us 
information.  They  possessed  considerable  wealth 
in  ornaments  and  objects  of  use,  and  had  certainly 
created  a  great  part  of  these  for  themselves,  while 
as  time  passed  on  they  were  prepared  to  imitate 
some  of  the  objects  imported  from  abroad."  The 
truth  is  that  not  at  this  epoch  alone,  but  for  cen- 
turies or  even  millenniums  previously,  there  was 
native  industry  and  art  among  the  Germans  and 
among  their  forefathers,  as  well  as  importation  from 
other  regions  of  articles  of  use  and  ornament.  In 

i6s 


IS  THE  ART  TEUTONIC  ? 

these  northern  lands  bordering  on  the  North  Sea 
and  the  Baltic,  and  bounded  to  the  south  and  west 
by  the  chain  of  mountains  that  extends  from  the 
Harz  to  the  Carpathians,  the  forerunners  of  the 
Germans  of  history  passed  from  the  neolithic  stage 
of  culture  represented  by  the  Danish  kitchen-mid- 
dens, through  the  earlier  and  the  later  Bronze  ages, 
and  into  the  age  of  Iron.  There  too  the  later  scions 
of  the  race  have  lived  through  the  fine  artistic  epoch 
of  the  Viking  inroads,  and  through  periods  pleasant- 
ly marked  by  charming  domestic  products,  down 
to  the  modern  era  of  the  Swedish  razor  and  safety- 
match.  These  regions  have  always  possessed  an 
art  and  culture  of  their  own,  and  there  seems  no 
reason  why  these  should  be  denied  to  them  at  this 
particular  epoch  of  the  migrations.  At  each  of  the 
earlier  eras  just  enumerated  the  people  were  re- 
sponsible for  those  products  of  culture  to  the  sur- 
vival of  which  we  are  indebted  for  our  knowledge 
of  their  social  condition.  The  objects  found  in  their 
graves,  or  in  other  places  of  deposit,  are  objects 
which  they  either  made  for  themselves  or  acquired 
through  barter  at  the  price  of  some  of  their  own 
indigenous  products,  of  which  the  most  important 
was  amber.  Many  of  these  objects  are  of  great, 
some  of  extraordinary,  technical  excellence,  and 

i66 


NORTHERN  BRONZE  AGE 

bear  testimony  to  considerable  elaboration  in  per- 
sonal equipment.  There  is  clear  archaeological  evi- 
dence that  the  very  finest  pieces  are  native  products, 
and  this  is  particularly  the  case  in  the  early  Bronze 
age,  dating  about  looo  years  before  Christ.  Fig. 
89  shows  part  of  a  bronze  breast-ornament  of  the 
early  Bronze  age  in  Denmark,  on  which  the  spirals 
have  been  impressed  with  a  tracer,'^  also  of  bronze, 
with  a  certainty  of  hand  that  is  little  short  of  mar- 
vellous. Many  centuries  accordingly  before  Taci- 
tus wrote,  the  inhabitants  of  further  Germany  had 
known  how  to  handle  bronze  and  gold  with  a  touch 
that  for  decision  and  exactness  has  rarely  been 
equalled,  and  were  accustomed  to  receive  and  to 
assimilate  the  products  of  the  older  Mediterranean 
civilization  to  the  south  and  east. 

In  accordance  with  what  was  said  in  the  preface, 
there  can  be  no  pretence  to  claim  for  the  indigenous 
Germanic  art  of  the  pre-migration  epoch  any  high 
degree  either  of  originality  or  of  intrinsic  merit.  It 
has  just  been  shown  that  the  region  which  we  have 
accepted  as  the  primeval  home  of  the  race  is  one 
where  the  arts  have  flourished  in  different  forms 
from  very  remote  epochs,  but  this  does  not  mean 
that  a  great  artistic  school  grew  up  there,  one  epoch 
building  on  what  had  been  accomplished  by  the 

167 


IS  THE  ART  TEUTONIC  ? 

previous  epoch,  so  that  higher  and  higher  forms 
were  continuously  evolved.  On  the  contrary,  the 
arts  passed  through  successive  phases,  the  standard 
rising  and  falling  again,  without  any  substantial 
progress.  There  was  nothing  accidental  nor  ob- 
scure about  the  course  of  this  artistic  history,  for 
its  different  phases  depend  on  causes  that  have 
been  ably  elucidated  in  works  like  Sophus  Miiller  s 
Northern  Antiquities,  or  the  Civilization  in  Sweden 
of  Professor  Montelius.  We  can  see  that  after  the 
splendid  Bronze  age  was  over  there  was  no  special 
Iron  age  development  corresponding  to  the  Hall- 
statt  and  La  Tene  cultures,  the  effective  range  of 
which  lay  further  to  the  south.  Caesar's  conquest 
of  Gaul  put  an  end  in  these  more  southern  regions 
to  the  predominance  in  art  of  the  Celtic  forms  re- 
presented centrally  at  La  Tene,  and  from  this  time 
onwards  these  took  refuge  in  the  western  parts  of 
the  British  Isles.  Then  with  the  establishment  of 
the  Empire  there  ensued  in  central  and  northern 
Europe  a  so-called  Roman  period,  when  the  pro- 
ducts of  Roman  industry  were  imported  in  con- 
siderable quantities  to  the  north,  largely  in  ex- 
change for  amber,  the  taste  for  which  was  greatly 
revived  in  Italy  from  the  time  of  Nero  onwards. 
This  period,  which  lasted  for  the  two  or  three  first 

i68 


ROMAN  INFLUENCE 


Christian  centuries,  was  not  one  in  which  much  can 
be  said  about  the  native  art  of  the  Germanic  area, 
but  many  of  the  best  authorities  are  of  opinion  that 
the  Germans  were  even  at  this  time  by  no  means 
merely  receptive.  One  of  the  chief  items  in  the 
finds  "  of  the  period  in  northern  Europe  is  the 
bronze  fibula  of  the  type  known  as  Provincial 
Roman.''  Some  writers  have  assumed  that  these 
objects  were  all  made  in  provincial  Roman  work- 
shops and  imported  into  the  Germanic  north. 
Almgren  on  the  contrary  pointed  out  the  difficulty 
of  accepting  this  explanation.  He  showed  that 
they  occur  in  certain  local  groups,  and  that  the 
fibulae  of  one  of  these  groups  differ  from  those  of 
another.  The  differences  are  comparatively  slight, 
but  they  would  not  exist  at  all  if  the  objects  had 
been  turned  out  in  big  provincial  Roman  factories. 
Had  this  been  the  case  the  same  forms  would  be 
found  almost  everywhere,  or  at  any  rate  distributed 
without  any  system  over  a  wide  area.  The  exist- 
ence of  closed  local  groups  betokens,  he  believes, 
local  manufacture. 

In  this  period  of  the  early  Empire  however, 
Germany  was  in  the  main  receptive  and  Roman 
fashions  were  greatly  in  vogue.  It  was  different 
when  the  era  of  migrations  began  and  Germany 

169 


IS  THE  ART  TEUTONIC  ? 


grew  aggressive  in  her  turn.  At  such  a  time  we 
may  regard  it  as  quite  in  accordance  with  natural 
likelihood  that  native  artistic  feeling  should  again 
show  itself  in  some  strength,  and  be  prepared,  if  not 
actually  to  originate  new  motives  and  fashions,  at 
any  rate  to  treat  all  available  artistic  elements  in  a 
fresh,  vigorous,  and  independent  manner. 

Among  these  elements  Roman  models  and  ex- 
ample must  of  course  count  for  much.  It  would  be 
absurd  to  deny  Roman  influence  on  the  art  of  the 
Teutonic  migrations,  or  to  attempt  to  reduce  it  be- 
low a  certain  reasonable  level.  Roman  influence 
not  only  existed  but  it  bulked  largely  in  the  com- 
pleted result.    We  might  almost  call  it, 

Gross  as  a  mountain,  open,  palpable," 
and  yet  at  the  same  time  it  was  not  an  overpower- 
ing influence,  and  it  certainly  did  not  preclude  in- 
itiative on  the  part  of  the  Teutonic  craftsmen  them- 
selves, nor  bar  the  way  to  the  reception  of  other 
streams  of  influence  setting  in  from  non-classical 
regions. 

Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  work  by 
the  late  Alois  Riegl  of  Vienna,  entitled  Late  Roman 
Artistic  Industry,  in  which  he  vindicates  for  the 
later  classical  civilization  the  credit  of  creating  the 
new  decorative  forms  and  fashions  which  make  their 

170 


ALOIS  RIEGL'S  THEORY 

appearance  at  the  epoch  of  the  Teutonic  migrations. 
It  has  been  suggested  also,  that,  if  Riegl  be  right 
in  his  contention,  i,e.^  if  such  things  as  animal  orna- 
ment, chip-carving  patterns,  and  the  like  were  purely 
Roman  inventions,  we  should  have  to  assume  in  the 
fourth  century  beyond  the  Rhine  and  Danube,  a 
barrenness  in  artistic  ideas  and  practice  which  the 
known  artistic  phenomena  of  the  European  Bronze 
and  early  Iron  ages  do  not  justify.  In  like  manner, 
when  there  is  a  question  of  the  sources  of  inlaid 
jewellery  or  of  enamel,  Riegl  assumes  a  purely 
Roman  origin,  and  the  acceptance  of  his  view  would 
involve  a  negation  of  artistic  initiative  not  only  in 
Germany  but  over  the  much  wider  field  of  Nearer 
Asia. 

On  Riegl's  general  treatment  of  the  art  of  this 
period  a  word  must  be  said.  His  main  argument 
for  ascribing  a  Roman  origin  to  the  inlaid  work  and 
enamel  of  the  period  of  the  migrations  is  that  he 
recognizes  in  it  the  expression  of  certain  artistic 
tendencies  which  he  observes  at  work  in  the  earlier 
Roman  period  before  Constantine.  In  his  view  a 
certain  artistic  need  or  desire  was  taking  possession 
of  the  Romans  as  the  imperial  period  advanced,  and 
this  need  or  desire  which  he  calls  a  Kunstwollen 
was  satisfied  by  the  use  of  colour  on  metal  of  which 

171 


IS  THE  ART  TEUTONIC  ? 


the  garnet  inlays  and  enamels  give  evidence.  He 
tries  to  establishthis  Kunstwollen  "  asthe  generat- 
ing factor  in  artistic  production  by  combating  the 

materialistic  "  view,  as  he  terms  it,  associated  with 
the  name  of  Gottfried  Semper.  Semper  devoted 
his  monumental  work  on  Style  in  the  Technical 
and  Constructive  Arts,  the  most  philosophical  book 
ever  written  upon  an  artistic  theme,  to  explaining 
the  close  connection  of  the  decorative  arts  with  ques- 
tions of  use  and  material  and  process.  He  was  the 
founder  of  the  non-literary  or  craftsmanlike  man- 
ner of  regarding  artistic  processes,  which  William 
Morris  brought  into  fashion  in  our  own  country,  and 
which  is  now  the  basis  of  much  of  the  work  in  the 
more  progressive  of  our  schools  and  colleges  of  art. 
Riegl  however  protests  against  what  he  calls  the 
materialistic  "  view  of  our  age,  that,  as  he  inter- 
prets it,  explains  the  work  of  art  as  a  mechanical 
product  of  raw  material,  technical  process  and  utili- 
tarian demand,  and  prefers  to  regard  the  work  of 
art  as  *'the  result  of  a  definite  and  self-conscious 
artistic  choice  that  establishes  itself,  not  by  sub- 
servience to,  but  through  a  contest  with  use  and 
material  and  technique." 

We  need  not  enter  into  a  discussion  of  Riegls 
aesthetic  principles,  but  his  general  position  must  be 

172 


ALOIS  RIEGL'S  THEORY 

understood  if  we  are  to  account  for  his  assertion  of  the 
Roman  character  of  inlay  and  enamel.  He  admits 
freely  that  almost  all  the  innumerable  examples  of 
garnet  inlay  in  gold  which  enrich  our  museums  have 
been  found  in  barbarian  graves,"  but  in  his  view  the 
Roman  character  of  the  objects  can  none  the  less  be 
established  on  the  strength  of  the  canons  of  artistic 
production  which  they  illustrate.  The  inlaid  work 
itself  is  late  Roman  in  date,  that  is,  it  appears  in 
Europe  only  after  Constantine,  and  can  only  be 
followed  back  in  the  Roman  world  into  earlier 
periods  in  a  few  isolated  examples.  The  growth 
of  the  artistic  feeling  that  found  ultimate  expression 
in  the  garnet  inlay  can  however,  he  believes,  be 
traced  in  other  branches  of  Roman  art,  examples  of 
which  are  of  course  abundant.  Riegl  accordingly 
claims  to  see  the  same  feeling  that  is  expressed  by 
the  late  Roman  inlays  and  enamels,  in  architectural 
monuments  such  as  the  Byzantine  domed  church 
and  the  Latin  basilica,  and  in  the  Roman  sculptured 
reliefs  on  friezes  and  sarcophagi.  To  most  people 
the  Early  Christian  basilican  church  is  a  product  of 
many  factors  social  and  material,  and  possesses  a 
natural  history  that  can  be  traced  on  a  basis  of  our 
knowledge  of  the  Church  life  and  the  various  circum- 
stances of  the  Roman  world  of  the  time.    To  Riegl 

173 


IS  THE  ART  TEUTONIC  ? 

it  is  the  direct  and  immediate  expression  of  a  mys- 
terious Kunstwollen,"  or  ''artistic  intent"  that 
was  seething  in  the  breasts  of  the  Romans  of  the 
early  Empire,  and  finding  expression  in  all  sorts  of 
divers  forms.  Exactly  what  this  artistic  intent" 
was,  and  how  these  various  architectural  and  sculp- 
turesque monuments  imperfectly  expressed  it  until 
it  was  fully  embodied  in  the  inlaid  and  enamelled 
work,  he  does  not  very  clearly  explain.  He  de- 
scribes it  as  the  tendency  to  isolate  the  individual 
object  in  the  field  by  sharp  separation  of  form  from 
form  by  means  of  colour.  The  garnet  inlays  of  the 
migration  period  utter  the  last  word  of  the  Kunst- 
wollen  towards  colour,  and  consummate  what  had 
been  in  progress  through  the  earlier  periods  of  the 
Empire. 

The  objective  difficulties  in  the  way  of  this  view 
Riegl  partly  attempts  to  meet  and  partly  defers  for 
treatment  to  his  second  volume.  His  life  was  un- 
fortunately cut  short  before  this  second  volume  was 
completed.  The  material  he  had  left  was  taken  in 
hand  by  Robert  von  Schneider,  the  accomplished 
Director  of  the  Vienna  Museum  of  Historical  Art, 
but  his  lamented  death  a  few  months  ago  has  again 
put  off,  perhaps  indefinitely,  the  accomplishment  of 
RiegFs  interesting  work. 

174 


ALOIS  RIEGL^S  THEORY 

The  difficulty  that  practically  all  the  finds  of  this 
inlaid  work,  with  other  characteristically  Teutonic 
products,  have  come  to  light  in  German  graves  and 
none  in  Roman,  is  accounted  for  by  the  disuse  in 
the  Christianized  Roman  provinces  of  tomb  furni- 
ture. Roman  objects  similar  to  those  which  appear 
in  Teutonic  sepulchres  may,  it  is  explained,  have 
been  in  evidence  south  of  the  Alps,  but  have  per- 
ished because  the  tombs  which  should  have  pre- 
served them  were,  owing  to  the  influence  of  the 
clergy,  kept  clear  of  furniture.  Again,  the  diffi- 
culty that  there  is  plenty  of  older  inlaid  work,  as  for 
example  in  Egypt,  is  met  by  an  attempt,  not  very 
successful,  to  demonstrate  a  difference  in  artistic 
intent  between  the  late  Roman  and  the  Egyptian 
work  ;  and  a  distinction  too  is  elaborated  between 
the  polychromy  of  the  older  classical  periods  and 
the  later  polychromy  of  the  garnet  inlays.  The 
existence  of  pieces  of  the  migration  period  of  un- 
doubted oriental  origin,  such  as  the  Cup  of  Chosroes, 
is  explained  by  the  suggestion  that  these  may  have 
been  copied  from  late  Roman  examples.  The  Siber- 
ian inlaid  work  on  gold,  and  the  well-known  pass- 
age in  the  late  classical  writer  Philostratus,  ascrib- 
ing the  practice  of  enamelling  to  the  Gauls  or  the 
Britons,  were  to  be  discussed  in  the  second  volume. 

175 


IS  THE  ART  TEUTONIC  ? 


Riegl's  work  is  so  full  of  original  thought,  and 
its  conclusions  are  so  keenly  discussed  among  con- 
tinental archaeologists,  that  it  has  been  worth  while 
to  deal  with  its  main  argument  at  some  length.  The 
special  case  which  this  argument  seeks  to  prove, 
the  Roman  origin  of  garnet  inlays,  really  collapses 
into  nothing  in  face  of  a  few  historical  facts,  which 
will  be  now  briefly  set  down. 

The  artistic  use  of  coloured  inlays  can  be  car- 
ried back  to  a  remote  epoch  both  in  Egypt  and  in 
Babylonia,  and  in  regard  to  the  former  country  the 
objects  exhibited  in  London  in  1910  by  the  British 
School  of  Archaeology  in  Egypt  were  to  most  people 
a  revelation.  Coloured  pastes,  arranged  to  produce 
figure  designs  in  undercut  sinkings  in  stone,  were 
then  seen  to  have  been  in  use  at  the  close  of  the 
3rd  dynasty,  in  the  fifth  millennium  b.c,  but  it  is 
with  the  more  delicate  inlays  in  gold  that  we  are 
here  chiefly  concerned. 

The  monumental  history  of  this  inlaid  gold  jewel- 
lery begins  in  Egypt  in  the  time  of  the  1 2th  dynasty 
or  about  2500  b.c.  That  is  to  say,  the  earliest  datable 
examples  of  this  kind  of  work  which  we  possess 
come  from  that  time  and  place.  Fig.  1 10,  on  Plate 
XXVIII,  shows  one  of  the  very  finest  existing 
examples.    The  red  is  cornelian,  the  blues  are 

176 


PLATE 


XXIII 


91.  EAGLE  IN  GOLD,  INLAID,  FROM  THE 
SIBERIAN  TREASURE  IN  THE  HERMI- 
TAGE, ST.  PETERSBURG. 


92.  GRECO-SCYTHIAN  GOLD  WORK    AT  ST. 
PETERSBURG. 


HISTORY  OF  INLAYS 

glass  pastes.  It  is  from  Dahshur,  in  the  Cairo  Mu- 
seum. The  British  Museum  has  recently  acquired  a 
small  Egyptian  headdress  in  gold  set  with  inlays  of 
lapis  lazuli  dating  about  looo  B.C.,  and  some  early 
Greek  gold  jewellery  of  the  Mycenaean  period  from 
i^gina,  dating  from  about  the  same  time,  is  inlaid  in 
exactly  the  same  fashion.  Rather  later  may  be  placed 
certain  inlaid  objects  of  ivory,  probably  of  Phoenician 
manufacture,  that  were  found  in  the  north-west  palace 
at  Nimrud  in  Assyria.  Numerous  examples  of 
inlaid  work  in  Egypt  bring  us  in  point  of  date  to 
the  period  of  the  rise  of  the  Persian  monarchy,  with- 
in the  vast  domains  of  which  both  Egypt  and  also 
Hellenic  Ionia  were  in  the  sixth  century  included. 
The  splendour  of  the  jewels  worn  by  the  Persians 
was  proverbial,  and  ancient  writers  mention  a  famous 
golden  vine  in  the  chamber  of  the  Persian  monarch, 
which  had  its  clusters  of  grapes  made  of  all  kinds 
of  precious  stones  such  as  emeralds  and  Indian 
carbuncles.  The  recent  excavations  carried  on  by 
the  French  on  the  site  of  Susa,  one  of  the  Persian 
capitals,  the  '^Shushan  the  palace"  of  Scripture, 
brought  to  light  in  1902  objects  of  gold  jewellery 
set  with  coloured  stones  which  came  from  the  tomb 
of  a  lady  of  the  period,  about  500  B.C.,  and  of  which 
M.  Babelon  writes  that    the  setting  of  gems  in  gold 

177  12 


IS  THE  ART  TEUTONIC  ? 


mounts  of  marvellous  delicacy  has  not  in  any  civi- 
lization attained  a  higher  level  than  in  Achaemenian 
Susa. " 

Leaving  Persian  inlaid  work  for  the  moment  we 
must  turn  our  eyes  northwards,  eastwards  and  west- 
wards from  that  country  to  the  regions  first  of  Bac- 
tria,  next  of  Siberia,  and  lastly  of  southern  Russia, 
all  of  which  regions  are  connected  with  remarkable 
examples  of  this  kind  of  work.^  In  1877  a  con- 
siderable treasure  in  gold  objects  was  discovered  on 
the  river  Oxus,  near  Balkh  the  ancient  capital  of 
Bactria.  The  bulk  of  the  objects  are  now  in  the 
British  Museum.  Amongst  them  is  a  gold  armlet 
terminating  in  two  winged  monsters,  whose  bodies 
and  wings  are  covered  with  cloisons  in  which  were 
once  set  coloured  stones,  one  fragment  of  which, 
probably  lazulite,  is  still  in  position  (fig.  90).  Many 
converging  lines  of  evidence  traced  by  Mr.  Dalton 
in  his  Treasure  of  the  Oxus  go  to  prove  the  date  of 
this  treasure  to  be  about  the  fourth  century  B.C.,  and 
the  place  of  manufacture  of  the  majority  of  the  ob- 
jects to  be  Persia. 

In  connection  with  this  Treasure  of  the  Oxus  at- 

^  The  regions  in  question  are  displayed  upon  the  Map  U,  re- 
duced, by  the  kind  permission  of  the  author  and  the  Trustees  of 
the  British  Museum,  from  Mr.  DaUon's  Treasure  of  the  Oxus, 

178 


SIBERIAN  GOLD-WORK 


tention  must  be  called  to  a  very  large  class  of  objects 
in  the  precious  metals,  for  the  most  part  inlaid,  that 
have  been  found  over  a  considerable  portion  of 
hither  Asia  and  south-eastern  Europe,  from  the 
Yenisei  in  Siberia  to 
Vettersfeld  in  Prussia. 
The  openness  of  the 
whole  of  this  vast  re- 
gion of  plains  (see  Map 
U)  rendered  the  trans- 
mission of  culture-in- 
fluences from  end  to 
end  of  it  an  easy  mat- 
ter, and  Mr.  Dalton 
remarks  that  * '  the  Scy- 
thic-Siberian    style " 


Map  of  Nearer  Asia.  From 
Treasure  of  the  Oxus. 


maintained  an  unmistakable  character  from  the 
Yenisei  to  the  Carpathians''  and  may  in  time  '*have 
extended  over  a  period  of  at  least  six  or  seven 
centuries.'*  Siberian  art  of  this  order  is  repre- 
sented by  some  extraordinary  objects  in  massive 
gold  set  with  turquoises  and  carbuncles,  that  in 
point  of  artistic  style  are  quite  sui  generis,  and  are 
among  the  treasures  of  the  Hermitage  Museum  at 
St.  Petersburg.  One  of  the  most  famous  of  these 
is  an  eagle  of  gold,  set  with  gems,  that  holds  in  its 

179 


IS  THE  ART  TEUTONIC  ? 


talons  an  antelope  of  a  species  characteristic  of  this 
region,  fig.  9 1 .  Other  objects  that  probably  origin- 
ated to  the  north  of  the  Black  Sea,  show  a  mixture 
of  classical  motives,  derived  from  the  Greek  colonies 
of  the  region,  with  those  of  a  barbaric  character 
which  for  want  of  a  better  term  we  can  qualify  as 

Scythian."  An  excellent  example  is  the  remark- 
able piece  of  open-work  in  gold,  set  with  gems,  at 
the  Hermitage,  shown  in  fig.  92.  Meanwhile  if  we 
return  to  Persia  we  obtain  examples  of  assured  pro- 
venance and  within  certain  limits  of  assured  date, 
that  carry  down  the  history  of  inlaid  gold  work  in 
that  region  to  the  sixth  or  seventh  centuries  a.d.,  by 
which  time  it  was  already  well  established  and 
flourishing  among  the  Teutonic  peoples.  The 
principal  objects  to  note  in  this  connection  are,  first, 
a  golden  relic  box  in  the  British  Museum,  fig.  93, 
set  with  garnets  and  green  stones,  found  in  a  Bud- 
dhist tope  near  Jalalabad  in  India  and  dated  by  coins 
found  with  it  to  about  the  middle  of  the  second  cen- 
tury of  our  era. 

Second,  a  rectangular  plaque,  perhaps  part  of  a 
girdle  ornament  or  clasp,  at  Wiesbaden,  found  in  a 
Prankish  tomb  at  Wolfsheim.  It  is  encrusted  with 
garnets  and  has  on  the  back  in  old  Pahlavi  charac- 
ters the  name  ''Ardashir"  or   Artaxerxes."  There 

180 


JEWELLERY  OF  THE  GOTHS 


were  two  Sasanian  sovereigns  of  the  name,  and  the 
object  may  date  either  in  the  first  part  of  the  third 
or  the  last  part  of  the  fourth  century  a.d. 

Third,  the  famous  Cup  of  Chosroes,  a  later  Sa- 
sanian sovereign, about  600  a.d.,  in  the  Bibliotheque 
Nationale,  Paris.  The  gold  of  the  cup,  or  shallow 
bowl,  is  pierced,  and  the  openings  are  filled  in  with 
transparent  coloured  and  engraved  discs,  seen  by 
transmitted  light. 

It  is  beyond  reasonable  doubt  that  the  Goths 
learned  the  fashion  of  this  work  when  they  were 
settled  in  the  third  and  fourth  centuries  in  southern 
Russia,  and  that  they  transmitted  it  to  those  other 
Teutonic  peoples  with  whom  they  came  into  local 
contact.  I  n  the  same  way  we  can  explain  the  appear- 
ance in  the  west  in  this  period  of  those  curiousoriental 
(that  is,  Persian)  and  barbarous  or  Scythian  motives 
which  are  in  evidence  in  objects  like  those  forming 
the  treasures  of  Petrossa  and  of  Nagy  Szent  Miklos, 
and  ina  lessprominentform  in  so  many  other  objects 
of  the  migration  period.  One  of  these  motives  is  the 
griffin,  a  creature  whose  habitat  is  the  Scytho-Greek 
zone  of  culture  inland  from  the  north  coast  of  the 
Black  Sea.  The  griffin  is  prominent  in  a  certain 
class  of  works  of  art  in  Hungary,  that  are  a  puzzle 
to  archaeologists,  and  are  known  as  the  Keszthely 

181 


IS  THE  ART  TEUTONIC  ? 


group/*  and  occurs  also  in  Teutonic  work  in  other 
regions.     It  is  derived  from  the  Euxine  district. 

A  beautiful  gold  brooch  in  the  Bibliotheque  Na- 
tionale,  Paris,  with  garnet  inlays,  and  with  the  rare 
feature  of  its  pendants  still  preserved,  has  for  its 
main  motive  a  griffin  of  this  kind,  fig.  94. 

The  inlaid  work  here  spoken  of  became  popular 
amongall  the  peoples  in  the  southern  zone,  including 
the  Jutes,  and  to  a  less  extent  the  Saxons,  of  our 
own  country.  It  only  appears  sporadically  in  Scan- 
dinavian art  and  then  chiefly  in  Gotland,  where  it 
occurs  commonly  in  a  certain  class  of  fibulae  which 
have  technical  affinities  with  those  found  in  Kent. 
It  is  equally  foreign  to  the  art  of  the  Angles  in 
Britain,  a  fact  that  confirms  the  view  of  Hoops  and 
others  that,  whereas  the  main  body  of  the  Anglian 
settlers  in  north-eastern  Britain  came  directly  over 
sea  from  Schleswig,  the  J  utes  and  the  Saxons  entered 
the  country  by  the  way  of  the  Rhinelandand  of  Gaul, 
where  they  had  been  open  to  southern,  ultimately 
Gothic,  influences. 

A  striking  proof  of  the  attractiveness  for  the  Teu- 
tonic eye  of  this  inlaid  work,  is  the  fact  that  in  nor- 
thern Gaul  and  the  Rhineland  it  superseded  the 
popular  and  very  pleasing  Gallo- Roman  enamel 
work  which  had  been  flourishing  in  the  previous 

182 


PLATE  XXIV 


SUMMARY 


period,  and  a  notice  of  which  from  the  technical 
point  of  view  will  find  a  place  in  the  next  chapter. 

This  inlaid  gold  jewellery  is  the  central  artistic 
fact  of  the  period  with  which  we  are  concerned,  and 
upon  the  view  we  take  of  its  provenance  and  history 
depends  our  answer  to  the  question  that  forms  the 
title  of  the  present  chapter.  If  there  be  agreement 
with  the  view  here  stated,  that  the  technique  is  not 
classical  but  oriental,  and  that  its  adoption  by  the 
Germanic  peoples  showed  at  once  their  independent 
taste  and  their  readiness  to  adopt  from  any  avail- 
able source  motives  which  suited  that  taste,  then 
we  must  reject  the  theory  of  Riegl  and  his  school, 
and  emancipate  the  Germans  from  that  supposed 
dependence  on  Roman  fashions  which  has  been 
elevated  in  some  quarters  into  an  article  of  faith.  If 
the  technique  be  essentially,  though  not  of  course 
in  its  origin,  Teutonic,  this  fact  is  enough  to  vindicate 
for  Germanic  art  the  independence  here  claimed  for 
it ;  while  the  wide  diffusion  of  the  technique  among 
so  many  of  the  branches  of  the  race  is  another  fact 
of  great  significance  in  its  bearing  on  the  intercourse 
that  must  have  existed  among  these  often  widely 
sundered  and  mobile  tribes. 


CHAPTER  X 


TECHNICAL  PROCESSES  AND  MATERIALS  USED  IN  THE 

PERIOD 

The  forging  of  arms,  damascening,  tausia-work,  and  plating.  Sheet 
metal  work.  Bronze  casting  and  chasing.  Punched  and  stamped 
ornament.  Filigree  and  granulated  work,  and  its  imitation  in 
stamping. 

Niello.  Enamel,  its  previous  history  and  the  technical  processes  in 
use  in  the  migration  period.  The  materials  and  technique  em- 
ployed in  inlaying. 

It  is  proposed  in  the  present  chapter  to  take  up 
the  subject  matter  from  the  side  of  technique  and  to 
attempt  to  discover  how  the  various  objects  were 
made,  and  whether  the  materials  and  the  technique 
were  in  each  case  such  as  the  native  Teutonic  crafts- 
man could  command.  We  will  begin  with  the  craft 
of  blacksmith  and  armourer,  which  will  remind  us 
that  we  are  dealing  with  a  period  of  the  Iron  age, 
and  will  then  go  on  to  other  metals  and  processes 
of  metal  work,  advancing  to  the  use  of  black  or 

184 


THE  FORGING  OF  ARMS 


coloured  substances  on  the  surface  of  metal  in  the 
form  of  niello,  enamel  and  inlays. 

The  umbos  of  the  shields  were  certainly  made 
by  the  native  armourer,  and  these  are  beaten  up  out 
of  plate  iron  in  a  manner  that  reflects  much  credit 
on  the  hammerman.  The  metal  is  sometimes  quite 
thin,  but  at  other  times  has  a  substance  that  would 
in  modern  work  suggest  the  process  of  casting.  The 
manipulation  of  the  points  or  studs  at  the  apex  of  the 
umbos  is  very  skilful,  and  those  interested  in  the 
armourer  s  craft  would  probably  find  here  some 
technical  points  of  interest.  For  one  thing  these 
particular  pieces  of  armour  are  not  falsifications  of 
c.  1850  !  A  very  pretty  piece  of  fancy  smithing  may 
be  seen  in  fig.  95,  which  shows  one  of  the  terminals 
of  the  iron  mounts  on  the  coffin  of  the  Lombard  chief 
mentioned  on  page  108.  The  welds  can  be  detected 
on  a  close  inspection. 

The  forging  of  an  axe-head  was  a  simple  piece 
of  smithing,  that  of  socketed  spear  heads  much  more 
elaborate.  There  are  here  three  features,  the  blade, 
the  central  rib,  and  the  hollow  socket,  and  the  treat- 
ment of  the  rib  often  shows  great  deftness  in  the 
hammer  strokes.  Fig.  23  on  Plate  VI  is  a  good 
example. 

The  spear  head,  like  the  sword  blade,  might  be 

18S 


TECHNIQUE  AND  MATERIALS 


damascened,  and  as  an  example  may  be  taken  the 
central  strip  of  the  blade  shown  in  fig.  96. 

True  damascening  is  the  province  of  the  smith, 
and  consists  in  a  method  of  forging  steel  that  re- 
sults in  toughness  of  quality  and  a  decorative  treat- 
ment of  the  surface.  It  should  be  distinguished 
from  the  processes  of  inlaying  or  plating  one  metal 
into  or  upon  a  metal  of  another  colour,  as  for  in- 
stance gold  or  silver  into  or  upon  iron,  to  which  pro- 
cesses the  term  is  in  common  parlance  too  often  ap- 
plied. In  damascening,  wires,  strips,  plates,  etc., 
of  steel  or  iron,  of  different  forms  and  varied  in  com- 
position or  in  degrees  of  hardness,  are  laid  side  by 
side  in  any  desired  pattern,  heated,  and  welded  to- 
gether on  the  anvil.  A  slight  treatment  of  the  sur- 
face with  weak  acid,  or  exposure  for  a  time  to  the 
action  of  the  earth  or  of  the  atmosphere,  brings  to 
light  slight  differences  in  colour  or  texture  among 
the  pieces  thus  united,  and  with  a  little  ingenuity, 
by  twisting  the  piece  and  then  hammering  it  out 
again,  or  by  similar  artifices,  all  sorts  of  wavy  pat- 
terns can  be  produced. 

The  best  proofs  of  Teutonic  skill  in  this  craft  are 
to  be  found  in  the  numerous  sword-blades  discover- 
ed in  the  Nydam  Moss  in  Schleswig  {ante,  p.  30),  the 
great  majority  (90  per  cent.)  of  which  are  treated  in 

186 


PLATE  XXV 


lOO 


97.   ROMAN  INLAID    DAGGER  SHEATHS  AT         98.  SILVER      PLATING      AND  DETACHED 
MAINZ.  PIECES  OF  FOIL,  MUSEUM  AT  NAMUR. 

99.  INLAID  IRON  BUCKLE  AT  MAINZ.  lOO.  TIN    OVERLAYS    ON    POTTERY,  FROM 

SWISS  LAKE  DWELLINGS,  LAUSANNE. 


DAMASCENING 


this  fashion.  Damascened  blades  are  often  referred 
to  in  the  heroic  poems  such  as  Beowulf^  and  there 
is  historical  evidence  in  one  of  the  letters  of  Cassiod- 
orus  written  in  the  name  of  Theodoric  the  Ostrogoth 
to  Thrasamund,  king  of  the  Vandals  in  north  Africa, 
in  which  he  thanks  his  brother-in-law  for  a  gift  of 
swords,  spathas,  ''more  precious  for  the  quality  of 
their  blades  than  for  their  golden  mountings.  Their 
gleaming  surface  is  polished  like  a  mirror,  and  their 
edge  is  so  true  that  they  seem  to  have  flowed  like 
liquid  from  the  furnace.  The  middle  of  the  blades 
is  hollow,  and  in  this  one  can  discern  an  appearance 
as  of  twisted  worms  that  gives  an  effect  of  changing 
light  as  if  the  steel  were  of  many  colours." 

A  common  technical  method  for  the  ornamental 
treatment  of  weapons  was  the  inlay  or  plating, 
sometimes  called  damascening  "  but  better  to  be 
known,  when  it  is  real  inlay,  as  tausia-work,"  by  a 
term  used  by  Vasari  and  probably  derived  from  an 
Arabo-Spanish  word  meaning    to  decorate.'' 

Everyone  is  familiarwith  what  is  popularly  known 
as  damascened  armour,"  in  which  the  dark  surface 
of  the  steel  ground  is  covered  with  scroll  work  or 
other  patterns  in  gold,  and  it  is  commonly  assumed 
that  the  gold  is  inlayed  in  channels  previously  cut  in 
the  ground.    This  is  however  but  rarely  the  case, 

187 


TECHNIQUE  AND  MATERIALS 

and  it  will  usually  be  found  that  we  are  dealing  not 
with  inlay  but  with  plating.  An  examination  of  the 
surface  in  a  part  of  the  pattern  whence  the  gold  has 
disappeared  will  generally  show  that  the  gold  only 
lay  on  the  surface,  and  adhered  to  it  because  the 
ground  had  been  roughened  and  provided  with  a 
slight  tooth  which  held  the  gold  foil  when  it  was 
hammered  down  over  it.  It  involves  much  more 
trouble  when  the  undercut  sinkings  have  to  be 
chiselled  out  in  the  metal  of  the  ground.  The 
Germanic  craftsman  was  an  adept  in  both  these 
processes,  which  he  probably  learned  from  the  Ro- 
mans. There  are  silver  inlays  on  some  Roman 
dagger  sheaths  at  Mainz,  fig.  97,  that  show  the  sort 
of  models  which  would  be  available.  The  Teutons 
used  both  inlaying  and  plating,  the  latter  most  com- 
monly, and  lavished  them  with  great  elaboration  on 
objects  like  the  big  iron  buckles  and  buckle  plates, 
which  are  of  all  others  most  Teutonic  in  character 
and  least  like  anything  made  in  Roman  workshops. 
This  fact  may  be  taken  to  illustrate  on  the  one  hand 
the  originality  and  on  the  other  the  dependence  of 
the  Teutonic  craftsman. 

From  the  technical  point  of  view  there  is  no  mys- 
tery about  true  inlaying,  but  the  exact  process  of  the 
plating,  which  involved  the  production  of  very  ela- 

188 


PLATING  AND  TINNING 


borate  designs,  and  in  which  we  find  what  seem  to  be 
broad  strips  of  silver  really  made  up  of  thin  parallel 
ribbons  about  three  quarters  of  a  millimetre  wide,  is 
not  very  clear.  The  iron  has  always  been  too  cor- 
roded in  the  specimens  examined  by  the  writer  for 
any  roughening  to  have  left  a  trace.  The  silver 
foil  was  of  a  certain  substance,  for  portions  of  it  have 
come  away  bodily  with  the  pattern  cut  out  in  them. 
Fig.  98,  from  the  Museum  at  Namur,  shows  this. 
True  inlaying  occurs  on  the  iron  buckle  at  Mainz, 
fig.  99.  The  Alemannic  spear  head,  fig.  23,  on 
Plate  VI,  seems  to  have  been  plated. 

A  process  much  in  vogue  was  that  of  tinning. 
The  decorative  use  of  tin  was  known  among  the 
Swiss  Lake  Dwellers,  and  pottery  has  been  found 
at  Corcelette  on  the  Lake  of  Neuchatel  with  strips 
of  tin  cemented  on  to  it,  fig.  100.  The  technique 
may  have  survived  in  central  Europe  and  been 
handed  on  to  the  Teutons  without  any  Roman  in- 
tervention. The  Germanic  use  of  the  metal  was 
in  the  form  of  plating,  a  very  easy  technical  process 
that  served  to  protect  the  surface  beneath  like  the 
nickel  coating  of  a  bicycle  frame.  The  buckle  shown 
in  fig.  105  has  been  tinned.  It  is  not  always  easy 
to  tell  tinning  from  plating  in  silver,  which,  as  we 
have  seen,  was  also  common  in  our  period.  Gold 

189 


TECHNIQUE  AND  MATERIALS 


is  found  plated  over  iron  as  well  as  over  bronze, 
copper,  and  silver. 

The  working  of  sheet  metal,  usually  silver,  intro- 
duces us  to  some  other  processes  of  interest.  An 
early  class  of  fibulae  very  classical  in  their  aspect 
are  made  of  sheet  silver,  and  have  their  surfaces 
generally  left  plain.  Examples  have  been  given  in 
fig.  51,  on  Plate  XIII. 

Silver  plates  are  often  enriched  by  repouss6  work 
and  then  afterwards  attached  to  the  surface  of  iron, 
as  in  a  piece  of  work  found  in  Belgium,  Gallo- 
Roman  in  design  but  Prankish  in  technique,  shown 
in  fig.  10 1,  and  in  a  buckle  plate  ornamented  with 
I  a  remarkable  design  in  beaten  silver,  to  which  re- 
ference will  later  on  be  made,  in  the  Museum  at 
Fribourg,  fig.  102  ;  while  gold  plates  are  similarly 
treated  before  they  are  made  to  adhere  to  a  ground 
of  bronze  or  of  silver.  Of  pure  repousse  work  not 
laid  over  a  ground,  perhaps  the  most  beautifully 
executed  example  in  the  whole  period  is  that  on  the 
famous  Ormside  bowl  in  the  Museum  at  York.  Its 
provenance  and  date  are  a  little  doubtful,  but  the 
fact  that  the  eyes  of  the  creatures  introduced  into 
the  design  have  been  inlaid  with  rock  crystal  brings 
it  into  the  class  of  work  characteristic  of  this  period. 
In  comparatively  rudely  executed  work,  like  that 

190 


SHEET  METAL  WORK 


on  the  Lombard  crosses  in  gold  foil,  the  relief  was 
often  secured  by  beating  the  gold  or  silver  plate 
over  or  into  a  mould  of  hard  wood  or  of  metal  that 
had  previously  been  cut  to  shape. 

This  introduces  us  to  a  remarkable  discovery 
made  in  Hungary  of  a  number  of  moulds  in  bronze 
over  which  sheet  silver  or  gold  was  intended  to  be 
beaten.  They  are  with  one  exception  positive,  not 
negative,  moulds,  so  that  the  sheet  metal  was  beaten 
over,  not  into,  them.  They  were  found  to  the  num- 
ber of  about  two  score  under  conditions  that  cast  a 
light  upon  the  constantly  recurring  question  of 

native  manufacture"  against  import.''  They 
came  to  light  in  a  gravel  bed  that  had  once  formed 
a  bank  of  the  river  Maros  and  w^ith  them  were  the 
bones  of  a  horse.  It  is  supposed  that  a  travelling 
goldsmith  with  his  stock-in-trade  was  drowned  when 
crossing  a  ford  of  the  river  on  horseback,  and  that  we 
have  before  us  the  implements  with  which  he  would 
go  round  the  country,  like  the  more  modern  tinker, 
tempting  the  country-women  to  invest  in  a  bit  of 
gold  or  silver  finery  which  he  would  fabricate  under 
their  eyes.  Figs.  103  and  104  illustrate  this  interest- 
ing find.  Fig.  103  gives  a  view  of  the  moulds  and 
fig.  104  shows  silver  ornaments  beaten  to  shape  over 
them.  The  objects  are  in  the  Museum  at  Buda-Pest. 

191 


TECHNIQUE  AND  MATERIALS 


Bronze  casting  on  a  fairly  large  as  well  as  on  a 
small  scale  is  well  represented  in  the  tombs.  The 
most  characteristic  object  of  the  former  kind  is  the 
bronze  bowl,  which  we  have  seen  to  be  a  fairly  com- 
mon concomitant  of  a  burial  in  the  Rhineland  and 
in  south-eastern  England.  See  fig.  84  on  Plate 
XXI. 

Bronze  casting  on  a  small  scale  is  largely  used 
for  the  production  of  fibulae  and  buckles.  Forged 
buckles  of  iron  were  often  attached  to  the  leather 
or  folded  linen  of  the  belt  by  rivets  of  iron  or  bronze, 
the  round  heads  of  which  projected  in  decorative 
fashion  on  the  upper  surface  of  the  buckle  plate. 
When  buckles  of  a  similar  form  were  moulded  in 
bronze  similar  round-headed  rivets  are  sometimes 
used,  as  in  the  tinned  bronze  buckle  at  Brussels 
shown  in  fig.  105,  but  as  a  rule  certain  tongues 
were  cast  on  to  the  under  surface  of  the  plate,  which 
passed  through  slits  in  the  band  and  were  fastened 
on  the  other  side  with  transverse  pins  (fig.  106). 
It  is  curious  however  to  find  still  the  old  projecting 
round  heads  of  the  rivets,  as  in  fig.  107,  reproduced 
in  the  casting  on  the  upper  surface  of  the  buckle 
plate,  though  they  are  now  purely  decorative.  This 
would  seem  to  show  that  the  forged  iron  buckle 
preceded  the  cast  bronze  one  in  typological  develop- 

192 


PLATE  XXVII 


107  108 


105.  TINNED  BRONZE  BUCKLE  WITH  DE-  106.   CAST  BRONZE    BUCKLE  AT  BRUSSELS, 

TACHED  STUDS,  AT  BRUSSELS.  BACK    VIEW    SHOWING  TECHNIQUE 

OF  ATTACHMENTS. 

107.  CAST    BRONZE    BUCKLE    PLATE    WITH         I08.   FIBULA  FROM  THE  TRENTINO,  WITH 
STUDS  AT  BONN.  PUNCHED  ORNAMENT. 


CASTING  AND  CHASING 


ment.  The  buckle,  as  we  have  already  seen  {ante, 
p.  1 33),  is  a  comparatively  late  object  belonging  en- 
tirely to  the  Iron  age,  and  with  no  Bronze-age  tra- 
ditions at  its  back,  such  as  those  which  affected  the 
fibula. 

Bronze  castings  are  often  a  good  deal  worked 
over  by  the  chasing  tools,  and  this  is  especially  the 
case  when  there  are  figures  or  animals  represented. 
One  can  often  see  the  burr  "  produced  by  the  use 
of  a  strong  graver  to  emphasize  lines,  and  these  are 
very  apparent  on  the  surface  of  fig.  105.  Whole 
patterns  are  sometimes  hewn  out  of  solid  metal  by 
the  chisel,  and  compartments  formed  in  a  similar 
way  for  the  reception  of  enamel.  The  golden  bowl 
from  Nagy  Szent  Miklos,  shown  on  the  frontispiece, 
fig.  1 1  i,seemstohavehadthesunkpartsofthepattern 
cut  out  in  this  fashion,  to  be  afterwards  filled  with 
dark  blue  enamel. 

Considerable  use  was  made  of  punches  and 
stamps  to  produce  surface  patterns  and  to  add  de- 
tails to  work  cast  and  chased.  The  Lombard  fibula 
of  the  curious  local  form  represented  in  the  Tren- 
tino,  fig.  108,  furnishes  an  example.  The  medal- 
lion of  Valens,  fig.  5  on  Plate  1 1,  may  also  be  quoted, 
and  other  specimens  on  northern  bracteates  are 
seen  in  fig.  115,  on  Plate  XXIX. 

193  13 


TECHNIQUE  AND  MATERIALS 

Of  the  Germanic  filigree  work,  which  often  takes 
the  form  of  plaits  of  fine  wire  soldered  down  upon 
a  ground,  and  of  the  ornament  that  consists  in  a 
string  of  minute  globules  of  gold,  the  history  is 
obscure.  The  latter  occurs  pretty  commonly  and 
in  different  degrees  of  excellence  in  execution. 
The  best  kind  of  work  is  that  in  which  the  separate 
globules  of  gold  are  soldered  down  each  in  its  place 
on  to  the  ground,  but  it  is  not  uncommon  for  the 
effect  to  be  produced  by  moulding  a  wire  into  a 
continuous  beading,  or  by  punching  out  a  series  of 
small  round  bosses  in  a  narrow  strip  of  sheet  metal 
and  fixing  the  strip  bodily  down  in  its  place.  The 
technique  is  only  to  a  limited  extent  a  Roman  one 
but  it  was  used  very  commonly  in  Etruscan  and 
Greek  gold  jewellery,  that  was  known,  like  other 
products  of  Etruscan  and  Greek  workshops,  in 
central  Europe.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the 
German  filigree  work  is  an  indirect  descendant  of 
Etruscan  or  Greek  through  the  medium  of  La  Tene 
work.  In  the  case  of  the  plaits,  these  also  may  be 
imitated  by  chasing  or  by  punching-up  an  ornament 
that  resembles  them  in  a  strip  of  sheet  metal. 
These  decorative  processes  are  well  represented  in 
the  early  gold  and  silver-gilt  jewels  from  Sackrau 
in  the  Museum  at  Breslau,  see  figs.  53,  54,  on  Plate 

194 


NIELLO  AND  ENAMEL 


XIV,  and  1 13,  while  some  of  the  very  finest  exist- 
ing examples  of  fine  gold  work  in  these  techniques 
are  found  on  some  wonderful  Scandinavian  necklets 
at  Stockholm,  dating  from  the  fifth  or  sixth  century 
A.D.    See  fig.  1 1 5. 

Niello  work  consists  in  filling  in  with  a  black  paste 
lines  or  compartments  cut  in  the  surface  of  metal, 
generally  silver.  It  was  probably  not  an  Egyptian 
nor  a  Greek  technique  but  was  used  by  the  Romans, 
and  was  doubtless  passed  on  from  them  to  the  Teu- 
tonic peoples. 

Enamelling  consists  in  the  fusing  of  coloured 
vitreous  pastes  which  are  really  glass,  on  to  the  sur- 
face of  metal  or  into  hollow  compartments  formed 
to  receive  them.  These  compartments  may  be 
excavated  in  the  mass  of  the  metal  or  may  be  formed 
by  soldering  strips  of  metal  edge  upwards  upon  the 
plate  into  any  form  required.  The  technical  terms 
used  are  encrusted  enamel/'  for  the  first  kind 
where  the  enamel  is  spread  over  a  surface,  and 
''champleve"  and    cloisonne  "  for  the  other  two. 

The  relation  betw^een  enamel  and  inlaying  is 
necessarily  close.  The  resultant  effect  is  often  the 
same  but  the  process  is  different,  and  it  is  remark- 
able that  the  Egyptians,  extremely  adept  at  coloured 
inlays  and  past  masters  in  the  manipulation  of 

19s 


TECHNIQUE  AND  MATERIALS 

vitreous  pastes,  never  seem  to  have  fused  these 
pastes  for  the  production  of  enamels.  So  far  as  we 
know  the  art  was  practised  first  in  the  Caucasus, 
about  looo  B.C.,  and  by  the  Celtic  peoples  in  Gaul 
and  Britain  in  the  last  centuries  before  the  Christian 
era.  Neither  the  Egyptains  northe  Phoenicians  nor 
any  of  the  Mediterranean  peoples  seem  to  have  em- 
ployed it,  save  in  so  far  as  it  was  practised  to  a 
limited  extent  and  in  a  somewhat  amateurish  fashion 
by  the  Greeks  from  about  the  fourth  century  B.C. 
The  Greek  enamel,  used  on  a  small  scale  in  gold 
jewellery,  was  of  the  thinly-fused  or  encrusted  kind, 
but  that  of  the  Caucasian  and  Celtic  enamellers, 
though  partly  encrusted,  was  mostly  in  the  more 
substantial  champleve  technique.  From  the  Celts 
the  Romans  in  Gaul  acquired  the  art,  and  a  very 
brisk  manufacture  of  enamelled  bronze  brooches 
and  other  objects  went  on  in  what  is  now  northern 
France,  Belgium,  and  the  Rhineland,  in  the  first 
centuries  of  the  Christian  era.  These  brooches,  the 
best  collection  of  which  is  in  the  Museum  at  Namur, 
were  very  widely  diffused  over  the  Roman  world, 
and  the  invading  Teutons  must  have  become  well 
acquainted  with  them.  It  is  somewhat  remarkable 
that  they  did  not  take  to  these  attractive  trinkets, 
but  preferred  the  inlaid  work,  the  oriental  proven- 

196 


ENAMEL  PROCESSES 


ance  of  which  has  already  been  demonstrated.  It 
is  an  interesting  fact  however  that  the  use  of  enamel 
did  not  wholly  die  out  in  the  migration  period,  and 
it  appears  sporadically  both  in  the  cloisonne  and 
the  champleve  forms. 

The  two  techniques  are  united  sometimes  on  the 
same  piece,  as  in  the  disc  from  the  **Peran''  or 

Kettlach  "  finds  presently  to  be  noticed,  see  fig. 
Ill,  where  in  blue  roundels  there  are  inserted 
little  cloisons  in  quatrefoil  form  filled  with  red 
enamel,  while  the  spaces  for  the  blue  roundels 
themselves  are  excavated  out  of  the  solid  bronze 
ground.  It  has  been  noted  that  champlev^  will  be 
used  where  outlines  are  so  irregular  that  the  making 
of  the  cloisons  would  be  troublesome,  cloisons  where 
forms  are  simpler  or  recurrent. 

Fig.  1 1 1  is  representative  of  a  group  of  enamelled 
objects  many  of  them  found  at  Peran  close  by  Vil- 
lach  in  southern  Austria,  and  all  belonging  to  that 
particular  Illyrian  district.  Much  and  Otto  Tis- 
chler  dated  these  about  the  sixth  century,  and  they 
have  been  connected  with  a  lovely  little  reliquary 
in  gold  of  that  epoch,  found  at  Pola  and  now  in  the 
Vienna  Museum,  in  which  dark  blue  enamel  is  used. 
More  recently  however  Paul  Reinecke  has  contest- 
ed this  date  and  claimed  the  objects  as  Carolingian. 

197 


TECHNIQUE  AND  MATERIALS 


We  are  not  however  dependent  on  the  Peran-Kett- 
lach  group  for  the  chronology  of  enamel  in  the  mi- 
gration period,  for  one  of  the  fine  silver-gilt  fibulae 
from  the  second  Szilagy  Somlyo  find  at  Buda-Pest, 
of  fourth  or  fifth  century  date  and  Gothic  proven- 
ance, has  on  its  head,  shown  in  fig.  112,  a  disc  of 
cloisonne  enamel.  A  champleve  piece,  apparently 
early,  is  at  Buda-Pest,  and  there  are  a  few  speci- 
mens from  the  territory  of  the  Franks  in  pure  mi- 
gration-period style  that  show  attempts  at  enamel- 
ling combined  with  inlays.  There  are  specimens 
at  St.  Germain,  Nuremberg,  Worms,  etc. 

The  St.  Germain  piece,  fig.  114,  was  found  at 
Waben,  Pas  de  Calais  ;  it  shows  in  open  work  the 
familiar  motive  of  the  griffin  (?)  drinking,  and  the 
incised  parts  are  filled  in  with  a  greenish  paste  that 
may  be  disintegrated  enamel. 

The  Iron  Crown  of  Lombardy  at  Monza,  of  the 
beginning  of  the  seventh  century,  shows  cloisonne 
enamel,  and  the  reliquary  of  St.  Maurice,  shown  in 
fig.  3  on  Plate  I,  has  enamel  on  the  upper  ridge, 
where  stones  for  inlaying  would  have  had  to  be  cut 
with  rounded  facets.  These  and  other  pieces  show 
the  continuity  of  the  technique  through  the  migra- 
tion period,  and  form  an  important  link  of  connec- 
tion between  the  earlier  enamel  work  and  the  Rhine- 

198 


PLATE 


XXVIII 


109.  COLOURED    GLASS    BEAD     NECKLACE  IIO.  INLAID    PECTORAL  OF  THE  I2TH  DY- 
WITH  PENDANTS,  MUNICH.  NASTY  OF  EGYPT,  CAIRO  MUSEUM. 

III.  FIBULA    FROM    PERAN    BY    VILLACH,  112.  CLOISONNE  ENAMEL  ON  FIBULA  FROM 
SHOWING    CHAMPLEVE    AND    CLOI-  SZILAGY     SOMLYO      IN  HUNGARY, 

SONNE  TECHNIQUE.  FOURTH  OR  FIFTH  CENTURY,  A.D. 


INLAYING 


land  champlev6  and  Byzantine  cloisonne  enamels 
of  the  later  middle  ages. 

The  technique  of  inlaying  is  quite  simple  in  the- 
ory, but  the  construction  of  the  cloisons  and  the  ac- 
curate adjustment  to  these  of  the  pieces  that  have 
to  fill  them  is  a  matter  which  demanded  at  times 
the  very  nicest  skill.  In  the  sketch  of  the  history 
of  the  technique  given  in  the  last  chapter,  certain 
oriental  examples  were  adduced,  wherein  the  col- 
oured inlays  are  introduced  into  apertures  in  the 
metal,  and  are  seen  in  some  cases,  as  in  the  Cup  of 
Chosroes,  by  transmitted,  in  other  cases,  as  in  the 
Wiesbaden  girdle  ornament,  by  reflected  light. 
This  inlaying  by  a  kind  of  champleve  process  into 
excavated  receptacles  occurs  in  our  period,  in  objects 
from  the  Treasure  of  Petrossa,  see  fig.  4  on  Plate  I, 
where  the  inlays  are  transparent,  and  fig.  1 1,  frontis- 
piece, where  they  are  set  with  opaque  backgrounds. 
As  a  rule  however,  in  Teutonic  work,  the  inlays  are 
set  in  cloisons,  formed  by  bending  to  shape  and 
soldering  edge  upwards  on  a  ground  thin  strips  of 
gold  or  other  metal.  Where  the  material  of  the 
coloured  inlay  is  transparent,  the  effect  is  heightened 
by  the  introduction  beneath  of  bright  gold  foil 
stamped  with  a  sort  of  diaper,  the  reflections  from 
which  flash  through  the  coloured  film.    The  colour 

199 


TECHNIQUE  AND  MATERIALS 


of  the  inlay  is  usually  red  and  the  material  is  Indian 
garnet.  Glass  pastes  are  used  for  the  blues  and 
greens  which  also  occur,  though  more  sparingly. 

The  garnets  and  the  pastes  are  most  commonly 
cut  flat  and  sunk  in  the  cloisons,  the  edges  of  which, 
intervening  between  the  coloured  patches,  produce 
the  decorative  effect  desired.  At  times  however 
the  stones  or  pastes  are  raised  above  the  surface  and 
set,  as  the  phrase  goes,  en  cabochon,  and  in  this  case 
are  generally  rounded,  carbuncle-fashion.  As 
specimens  of  flat  inlaying  the  ornaments  of  Chil- 
deric's  sword,  fig.  IV,  frontispiece,  and  the  round 
fibula  at  Brussels,  fig.  39  on  Plate  X,  may  be  referred 
to,  while  stones  and  pastes  set  en  cabochon  may  be 
seen  in  fig.  38  on  Plate  X,  a  superb  and  historically 
important  jewel  of  the  last  half  of  the  fourth  century, 
and  in  fig.  112  on  Plate  XXVI 1 1. 

A  peculiarity  of  the  numerous  round  jewelled 
fibulae  found  in  Jutish  graves  in  Kent  is  the  setting 
of  gems  on  a  basis  of  a  white  substance,  cut  into 
the  form  of  circular  dome-shaped  buttons,  on  the 
summits  of  which  are  fixed  small  carbuncles.  A 
characteristic  specimen  is  shown  in  fig.  40  on  Plate 
X.  These  buttons  are  sometimes  half-an-inch  in 
diameter.  It  has  never  been  ascertained  what  the 
material  is  of  which  they  are  composed,  and  whether 

200 


JEWEL  SETTING 


or  not  the  substance  is  always  the  same.  Carbonate 
of  lime  certainly  enters  largely  into  the  composition 
of  various  examples  to  which  the  writer  has  been  able 
to  apply  chemical  tests,  but  the  material  is  generally 
much  degraded,  and  the  analyst  has  hitherto  been 
baffled.  For  the  present  purpose  the  peculiarity 
is  of  value  as  differentiating  the  Kentish  brooches 
from  those  of  similar  form  in  Gaul  and  the  Rhine- 
land.  On  the  Continent  the  use  of  a  white  sub- 
stance of  the  kind  is  extremely  rare,  and  collections 
of  Prankish,  Alemannic  and  Burgundian  jewels 
hardly  yield  a  specimen,  while  in  Kent  the  use  is 
normal,  and  this  fact  is  enough  to  show  that  these 
objects  were  of  local  fabrication,  and  not  distributed 
from  any  common  centres.  It  is  a  very  interesting 
fact  however  that  this  same  white  substance,  or  a 
similar  one,  occurs  in  certain  inlaid  brooches  of  the 
period  found  in  the  Scandinavian  island  of  Gotland, 
one  of  which,  from  the  collection  of  Mr.  James  Curie, 
is  shown  in  fig.  1 16. 


CHAPTER  XI 


PROBABLE  SOURCES  AND  HISTORY  OF  TEUTONIC 
ORNAMENT 

Magnitude  and  complexity  of  the  subject.  Teutonic  art  of  the 
migration  period  in  its  relation  to  other  artistic  developments 
with  which  it  is  connected. 
Grouping  of  the  ornamental  motives  under  consideration  :  (i) 
geometrical  motives,  (2)  motives  drawn  from  plant  sources,  (3) 
animal  motives,  (4)  the  human  form  and  face. 

The  title  of  this,  the  penultimate  chapter  of  the 
present  little  book,  might  serve  as  headpiece  for  a 
very  portly  volume.  A  large  and  complicated  sub- 
ject is  indicated  by  it,  and  this  it  is  impossible 
within  existing  limits  to  do  more  than  touch.  The 
object  of  the  book,  as  explained  at  the  outset,  is  to 
offer  to  the  general  reader  a  survey  of  the  subject 
of  early  Teutonic  art  and  craftsmanship,  and  to  the 
student  an  introduction  to  the  further  pursuit  of  it, 
which  may  be  conducted  along  several  different 
lines.    One  of  these  lines  of  study  is  typological, 

202 


PLATE  XXIX 


115.  PORTIONS  OF  GOLDEN  NECKLETS  AND 
MOUNTED  RRACTEATES  AT  STOCK- 
HOLM. 


116.  GOTLAND  BROOCH  IN  THE  COLLECTION 
OF  MR.  JAMES  CURLE,  SHOWING  USE 
OF  WHITE  SUBSTANCE. 


TYPOLOGICAL  STUDY 


and  leads  to  a  close  analysis  of  the  forms  of  objects 
with  a  view  to  establishing  among  them  a  chrono- 
logical scheme  of  development,  after  the  fashion 
in  which  Dr.  Haakon  Schetelig  has  recently  re- 
viewed and  classified  the  Cruciform  Brooches  of 
Norway.  Another  line  of  study  is  that  of  com- 
parative ornament,  where  the  method  is  also  typo- 
logical, though  it  is  the  enrichment  of  the  objects 
rather  than  their  forms  that  is  held  in  view. 

In  view  of  the  great  extent  of  this  field  of  in- 
vestigation, all  that  can  be  attempted  here  is  a 
general  survey  and  statement  of  the  chief  problems 
which  it  offers  to  the  student. 

A  glance  at  Map  W  will  be  useful  for  purposes 
of  orientation.  The  geographical  and  chrono- 
logical positions  of  this  Teutonic  art  of  the  migra- 
tion period  have  been  already  indicated, — see  ante, 
pp.  4-7.  In  time  it  was  preceded  immediately  by 
a  period  of  Roman  influence  in  the  north  in  the 
first  two  or  three  centuries  of  the  Christian  era. 
This  influence  from  Mediterranean  lands  was 
no  new  thing,  for  there  were  old-established  trade 
routes  from  Italy  to  northern  Europe,  two  of  which, 
over  the  Brenner  and  over  the  Julian  Alps,  are 
shown  on  the  map,  but  in  the  period  just  indicated 
it  became  predominant.     At  the  same  time  the 

203 


TEUTONIC  ORNAMENT 


way  was  always  open  for  Oriental,  Greco-Scythian, 
and  perhaps  Siberian  influence  to  stream  inwards 
towards  the  north-west,  in  the  directions  indicated 
by  the  arrow-headed  lines.  Open  plains  stretch  con- 
tinuously from  the  Caucasus  and  Ural  Mountains 


w 


Map  showing  the  extension  of  "  Hallstatt"  and  "La  T^ne  " 
culture,the  Roman  trade  routes  from  Italy  to  the  North, 
and  the  lines  indicating  influence  from  the  East. 


to  the  North  Sea,  and  some  antiquaries  believe  that 
this  vast  superficies  formed  a  single  archaeological 
area,  and  that  this  fact  is  sufficient  to  account  for 
the  Greco- Scythian  gold-find  at  Vettersfeld  in  the 
Nieder  Lausitz,  without  the  hypothesis  of  any 
merely  fortuitous  importation. 

204 


THE  CELTIC  LEGACY 


Before  this  Roman  period  Celtic  art  had  prevailed 
in  central  Europe,  and  while  the  older  Hallstatt 
culture,  shown  by  the  darker  shading,  was  in  the 
main  confined  to  a  zone  encircling  the  Alps  from 
Croatia  on  the  east  to  Provence  on  the  west,  the 
later  La  Tene  culture  of  the  last  centuries  B.C., 
shown  on  the  map  by  lighter  shading,  extended 
its  influence  in  a  very  much  wider  circle.  It  is  a 
very  interesting  and  important  fact,  that  may  again 
be  recalled  to  the  reader  s  mind,  that  while  after 
Caesar's  conquests  Roman  influence  superseded 
that  of  La  Tene  in  central  Europe,  the  latter,  in 
the  form  known  as  Late  Celtic,*'  took  refuge  in 
the  north  and  west  of  the  British  Isles,  where,  after 
a  comparatively  unfruitful  period,  it  blossomed  out 
in  the  seventh  and  eighth  centuries  a.d.  into  a 
wonderful  aesthetic  activity  in  carving,  in  metal 
work,  and  in  the  illumination  of  manuscripts. 

The  Teutonic  art  of  our  period  accordingly, 
covering  chronologically  the  centuries  from  the 
fourth  to  the  ninth,  may  have  been  affected  by  old 
classical,  by  oriental,  and  by  Celtic  traditions  be- 
fore it  began  to  take  form  and  substance  of  its  own. 
The  direct  Roman  influence  of  the  earliest  Chris- 
tian centuries  was  of  course  nearer  and  more  power- 
ful, and  must  always  be  reckoned  with.    After  the 

20$ 


TEUTONIC  ORNAMENT 


migration  period  had  begun,  we  have  seen  already 
how  oriental  elements  appear  at  once  in  Teutonic 
art  and  seem  as  important  as  Roman,  while  on  the 
other  hand  though  the  Teutonic  tribes  were  now  in 
central  Europe  where  La  Tene  culture  can  hardly 
have  passed  wholly  out  of  existence,  it  is  very  diffi- 
cult to  find  anything  of  proved  Celtic  derivation  in 
Teutonic  ornament.  In  our  own  country  the  well- 
known  but  still  enigmatical  enamelled  mounts  to 
the  bronze  bowls,  which  appear  to  belong  to  the 
early  Saxon  period,  supply  in  their  flamboyant 
ornament  and  trumpet-ended  spiralsa  distinct  over- 
lap, but  on  the  Continent  examples  of  the  kind  can 
hardly  be  said  to  exist. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  Teutonic  art  have  little 
connection  with  the  phases  of  Celtic  art  that  pre- 
ceded it,  its  relation  to  the  later  Celtic  art  of  the 
Christian  period  in  Britain  was  close  and  intimate, 
so  that  it  is  an  open  question  whether  the  Celtic 
art  of  the  Christian  period  in  the  British  isles  did 
not  owe  most  of  its  characteristic  motives  to  the 
Teutonic  art  of  the  migration  period.  The  fact 
that  in  some  cases  these  motives  were  developed 
by  the  Celtic  artist  to  more  elaborate  and  beauti- 
ful forms  than  they  had  assumed  in  Teutonic  hands 
has  disinclined  some  of  the  Celtic  experts  to  admit 

206 


ORNAMENTAL  MOTIVES 


this  derivation,  for  which  however  there  is  much 
to  be  said.  Dr.  Salin  has  made  it  quite  clear  that 
certain  ornaments  in  black  and  white,  in  the  beauti- 
ful penmanship  of  the  early  Irish  MSS.  such  as 
the  Book  of  Durrow,  reproduce  in  a  somewhat  un- 
natural and  laboured  technique  the  effect  of  the 
gold  cloisons  that  hold  the  garnet  inlays  in  the 
early  Teutonic  brooches.  The  special  form  of  these 
cloisons  that  most  constantly  recurs  is  the  step  form 
(see  examples  on  Plate  X),  and  this  is  found  re- 
produced in  the  Irish  penmanship.  If  the  assumed 
derivation  be  established  in  the  case  of  these  geo- 
metrical motives,  this  would  be  an  argument  in 
favour  of  the  general  theory  of  the  relation  between 
the  two  artistic  phases  that  has  been  indicatedabove. 
We  are  not  however  concerned  with  the  afterhistory 
of  the  Germanic  motives,  so  much  as  with  their 
origin,  and  their  development  within  the  Teutonic 
area. 

The  motives  of  ornament  with  which  we  have  to 
deal  may  be  conveniently  grouped  under  four  main 
heads,  according  as  they  are  (i)  geometrical;  or 
drawn,  (2)  from  plant  sources,  (3)  from  the  animal 
kingdom,  (4)  from  the  human  form. 

The  geometrical  ornaments  vary  from  mere  dots, 
as  in  fig.  108  on  Plate  XXVII,  to  small  patterns 

207 


TEUTONIC  ORNAMENT 


such  as  those  which  go  to  make  up  bookbinders' 
geometrical  designs.  Of  these  SaHn  has  given 
some  analysis.  There  is  one  pattern  quite  on  a 
small  scale  that  consists  in  the  repetition  of  triangles, 
each  one  surmounted  by  a  small  circle.  This  occurs 
as  an  ornament  added  by  the  Gothic  goldsmith  to 
the  borders  of  the  great  golden  medallions  with  im- 
perial portraits  at  Vienna,  that  date  from  the  latter 
part  of  the  fourth  century  a.d.,  and  one  of  which  is 
given  in  fig.  5  on  Plate  II.  In  Scandinavia  it  is 
common  in  the  ornamentation  of  bracteates,  a  class 
of  objects  referred  to  ante,  p.  1 55,  and  shown  in  some 
specimens  in  fig.  115,  and  also  on  other  objects  of 
northern  manufacture.  It  occurs  too  in  France, 
Belgium,  and  England.  There  is  no  feature  in  the 
art  of  the  time  that  furnishes  a  more  striking  proof 
of  the  element  of  uniformity  which  runs  through 
the  various  phases  of  the  Germanic  art  of  the 
migration  period. 

The  so-called  chip -carving  "  patterns  (see  fig.  9 
on  Plate  III),  which  may  be  conveniently  classed 
as  geometricar'  though  sometimes  derived  ulti- 
mately from  organic  forms,  set  a  problem  to  the  in- 
vestigator. They  have  the  appearance  of  forms 
cut  in  wood,  and  in  wood  carving  they  are  still  used 
in  the  Teutonic  north.    Now  the  fact  that  the 

208 


PLATE  XXX 


TI7.  BRONZE  BUCKLE,  WITH  INTEKLACING 
ORNAMENT,  COLLECTION  OP'  THE 
ACADEIMY,  MUNICH. 

119.  OBJECTS  OF  THE  "  KESZTHELY  GROUP  " 
AT  BU  DA-PEST. 


118.  PORTION  OF  EARLY  GERMANIC  HELMET 
AT  VIENNA,  WITH  REPOUSSE  ORNA- 
MENT SHOWING  THE  VINE  WITH  BIRDS, 

120.  LEOPARDS  FLANKING  END  OF  BUCKLE 
PLATE,  FROM  SAMSON,  MUSEUM  AT 
NAMUR. 


GEOMETRIC  PATTERNS 

Runic  characters  were  expressly  shaped  to  be  cut 
in  timber  is  a  positive  proof  of  the  familiar  use 
among  the  ancient  Germans  of  the  knife  on  wood, 
and  incline  us  to  claim  these  patterns  as  native  Teu- 
tonic products.  We  must  remember  too  that  the 
wooden  buildings  of  Attila  s  headquarters  in  Hun- 
gary, in  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century,  were  partly 
constructed  €k  a-anSwv  iyyXvcpoop^  of  beams  orna- 
mented with  incised  sculpture,*'  and  were  probably 
German  work.  On  the  other  hand  these  same 
patterns,  in  the  form  of  sunk  stars,  etc.,  are  found 
on  Roman  sculptured  altars,  as  at  Chester,  at  New- 
castle, and  elsewhere,  and  have  led  some  to  vindi- 
cate the  motives  as  Roman.  We  are  reminded  of 
what  was  said  on  an  earlier  page,  anU  p.  32,  about 
the  interpenetration  of  Germanic  and  classical  cul- 
tures which  rendered  possible  an  influence  from 
north  to  south  as  well  as  one  in  a  northerly  direction. 
The  patterns  occur  on  Roman  stones  of  a  fairly 
early  imperial  date,  but,  as  we  saw  that  Germans 
fought  in  the  Roman  army  even  under  Julius  Caesar, 
this  date  is  not  too  early  for  the  Romans  to  have 
adopted  them  from  their  northern  auxiliaries.  Such 
motives  as  these  are  abnormal  in  classical  work  as 
a  whole.  It  is  true  that  Riegl  attempts  to  bring 
them  under  the  ample  umbrella  of  the  supposed 

209  14 


TEUTONIC  ORNAMENT 


late- Roman  Kunstwollen/'  but  in  spite  of  the  value 
and  interest  of  his  book  common  sense  really  revolts 
against  the  artificiality  of  his  fundamental  scheme. 
On  the  other  hand,  as  has  just  been  noticed,  chip- 
carving  "  patterns  are  quite  what  we  would  expect 
in  the  north,  and  A.  Haupt  in  his  recent  work  on 
the  oldest  art  of  the  Germans  does  well  to  empha- 
size this  fact. 

The  scroll  ornament  that  occurs  frequently  on 
the  Saxon  saucer  "  fibulae,  like  those  from  Kemp- 
ston,  Beds,  in  fig.  41  on  Plate  XI,  and  elsewhere,  as 
in  fig.  9,  appears  geometrical,  but  may  quite  possibly 
be  derived  ultimately  from  the  classical  acanthus 
scroll,  with  which  Salin  is  disposed  to  connect  it. 
If  this  were  the  derivation  however,  we  should  ex- 
pect to  find  the  fact  betrayed  by  the  survival  of 
traces  of  the  side  stems  given  off  from  the  main 
stem,  which  are  normal  in  the  true  foliage  scrolls  of 
classical  art.  These  survivals  the  writer  has  never 
chanced  to  find,  and  it  may  be  safer  to  regard  the 
motive  as  a  form  of  the  spiral. 

The  spiral  occurs  fairly  often  in  early  Teutonic 
ornament,  but  always  in  the  close-coiled  form  pre- 
senting no  traces  of  the  divergent  or  trumpet-ended 
spirals  of  Celtic  tradition.  The  close-coiled  spiral 
is  an  early  Bronze  age  motive  familiar  in  the  north, 

210 


SPIRALS  AND  ENTRELACS 

and  we  have  seen  an  example  in  fig.  89  on  Plate 
XXIII.  The  Germanic  spirals  are  of  the  same 
kind  and  may  represent  a  survival,  though  on  the 
other  hand  the  spiral  is  a  motive  that  may  have 
been  independently  invented  at  many  times  and  in 
divers  places.  ''The  Spiral  in  Art'*  is  the  title  of  a 
substantial  volume  still  to  be  written  by  some  ex- 
pert in  comparative  ornament,  though  there  is  plenty 
of  literary  as  well  as  monumental  material  already 
collected  about  the  subject.  Both  the  animal  and 
the  vegetal  kingdoms  offer  in  shells  and  tendrils 
and  locks  of  hair  countless  natural  examples  of  the 
motive,  and  the  behaviour  of  thin  strips  of  metal  as 
they  are  shorn  off  a  sheet  furnishes  one  of  those 
workshop  suggestions  the  fruitfulness  of  which  all 
students  of  ornament  acknowledge.  Hence  the  fore- 
history  of  the  Germanic  spiral,  after  all  not  an  im- 
portant or  frequent  motive,  may  be  left  doubtful. 
A  Roman  origin  is  the  least  likely  of  any  that  can  be 
suggested. 

Interlaced  work  presents  us  with  problems  some- 
what similar  to  those  connected  with  the  spiral. 
The  entrelac,  to  adopt  the  French  term,  resembles 
the  spiral  in  that  it  may  have  been  invented,  or 
derived  from  wicker-work  or  other  such  source,  in- 
dependently at  many  different  times  and  places,  but 

211 


TEUTONIC  ORNAMENT 

it  differs  from  the  spiral  historically  in  that  it  has  by 
no  means  so  long  a  record.  I  n  one  very  simpleform, 
the  plaited  band  or  guilloche,  it  is  old-oriental  and 
Greek,  but  the  covering  of  abroad  surface  with  inter- 
lacings  occurs  for  the  first  time  on  a  large  scale  in 
Roman  mosaic  pavements  of  the  imperial  period. 
It  is  one  theory  that  these  pavements,  of  which  there 
are  examples  at  home  and  abroad,  furnished  the  first 
suggestiontotheornamentalists  wholaidthe  founda- 
tion for  the  immense  development  of  the  motive  in 
the  early  Christian  centuries.  This  plait  work, 
decoratively  employed  to  cover  a  surface,  occurs 
fairly  often  on  Teutonic  buckle  plates,  but  it  is  as  a 
rule  rather  late  than  early  in  the  period,  and  is  com- 
paratively rude  in  execution.  Fig.  117,  an  Ale- 
mannic  bronze  buckle  in  the  collection  of  the  Acad- 
emy at  Munich,  is  a  good  example.  The  central 
panel  is  simply  treated  like  a  Roman  mosaic  pave- 
ment. In  the  part  just  below  the  hinge  the  bands 
appear  to  end  not,  as  was  so  common,  in  the  heads 
of  beasts,  but  in  what  resembles  leaves.  There  is 
another  specimen  of  the  work  in  fig.  107  on  Plate 
XXV 1 1.  The  question  whether  these  rudimentary 
forms  of  the  entrelac,  which  are  all  that  we  find  on 
the  portable  objects  of  the  migration  period,  can 
have  been  the  origin  of  the  elaborate  and  varied 

212 


PLANT  MOTIVES 


motives  common  in  the  carving,  metal  work,  and 
penmanship  of  the  Christian  Celtic  art  of  the  seventh 
and  eighth  centuries,  would  be  worth  investigation. 
Mr.  Romilly  Allen  thought  such  a  derivation  most 
unlikely,  but  he  admitted  the  influence  of  the  Teu- 
tonic cloisonne  jewellery  on  the  MS.  designs  referred 
to  above.  The  Celtic  artist  we  must  remember 
only  needed  a  suggestion,  and  could  work  out  with 
great  elaboration  motives  which  came  to  him  from 
an  external  source  in  a  rudimentary  form. 

Passing  now  from  these  geometrical  motives  to 
those  derived  from  the  plant  world,  we  are  met  by 
the  fact  that  the  particular  development  of  the  arts 
of  ornament  with  which  we  are  concerned  depended 
less  for  its  inspiration  on  this  source  than  almost 
any  other  historical  phase  of  the  designer's  art. 
The  appearance  of  a  plant  motive  in  a  supposed 
piece  of  the  migration  period  at  once  rouses  our 
suspicion,  and  when  the  form  of  the  motive  suggests 
a  debased  treatment  of  the  classical  acanthus  the 
presumption  is  that  the  piece  is  late  and  exhibits 
the  influence  of  the  Carolingian  renaissance.  An 
exception  is  to  be  made  in  the  case  of  the  vine, 
which  appears  in  genuine  work  of  the  migration 
period  and  is  often  combined  with  the  motive  of  the 
bird  pecking  at  a  bunch  of  grapes.    On  the  history 

213 


TEUTONIC  ORNAMENT 


of  the  vine  in  ornament  much  has  been  written  by 
Strzygowski  and  others,  and  the  oriental  affinities 
of  the  motive  have  been  fully  demonstrated.  The 
symbolical  significance  of  the  vine  made  it  an  ac- 
ceptable motive  in  ecclesiastical  art,  while  the  bird 
amidst  the  foliage,  a  motive  known  in  pagan  Roman 
and  even  in  Hellenic  decoration — see  carvings  in 
theLateran  Museum  and  the  silver  vase  from  Niko- 
pol in  the  Hermitage — came  no  doubt  to  signify  in 
Christian  eyes  the  soul  partaking  of  celestial  food. 
The  most  interesting  use  of  the  motive  is  in  con- 
nection with  carved  crosses  and  slabs  in  the  Ang- 
lian style  in  northern  Britain,  but  the  limits  of  this 
book  are  too  narrow  to  admit  of  the  discussion  of 
this  phase  of  our  subject.  Monuments  of  ecclesi- 
astical art  are  necessarily  not  so  purely  Teutonic  as 
the  personal  possessions  forming  part  of  Germanic 
tomb  furniture,  and  it  is  with  the  latter  that  we  have 
had  almost  exclusively  to  deal.  This  bird-and-vine 
motive  does  occur,  though  rarely,  on  these  portable 
objects,  as  on  the  enriched  border  of  an  early  Teu- 
tonic helmet  at  Vienna,  shown  in  fig.  ii8.  The 
piece  is  known  as  the  four-ribbed  helmet  from  Vid, 
Dalmatia. 

Another  exceptional  use  of  a  foliage  motive  is 
connected  with  a  group  of  somewhat  enigmatical 

214 


THE  "KESZTHELY  GROUP'' 


objects  named  after  their  place  of  discovery,  the  ex- 
tensive necropolis  of  Keszthely  in  Hungary.  This 

Keszthely  group  includes  numerous  strap  ends 
ornamented  in  relief  or  in  pierced  work  with  con- 
ventional foliage  scrolls  of  classical  design,  which, 
in  themselves,  might  be  late  antiques  or  might  pro- 
ceed from  the  Carolingian  renaissance  of  about  800 
A.D.  They  are  associated  however  with  represen- 
tations of  the  griffin,  which  carries  us  at  once  to 
southern  Russia,  and,  what  is  a  still  more  significant 
fact,  with  similar  strap  ends  on  which  two  beasts  of 
prey  are  represented  as  pulling  down  a  creature  of 
the  deer  species.  Now  this  is  an  antique  motive 
but  not  a  Carolingian  one,  and  this  consideration 
obliges  us  to  take  the  view  of  Hampel  that  they  are 
early,  and  are  reminiscent  of  the  connection  of  the 
Goths  with  the  Black  Sea  lands  ;  rather  than  that 
of  Reinecke  who  makes  them  late,  and  of  Salin 
who  confesses  himself  puzzled  but  is  inclined  to  the 
same  opinion.  Fig.  1 19  shows  strap  ends  at  Buda- 
pest with  both  the  foliage  and  the  animal  motives. 

When  we  pass  from  the  consideration  of  plant 
motives  to  those  drawn  from  the  world  of  animals, 
we  find  ourselves  again  confronted  with  problems  of 
origin  to  which  there  is  no  universally  accepted 
solution.    Are  the  animals,  which  play  so  large  a 

215 


TEUTONIC  ORNAMENT 


part  in  the  ornamentation  of  the  migration  period,  of 
Roman  or  of  native  Germanic  birth,  and  is  the  still 
more  elaborate  zoomorphic  enrichment  of  the  later 
Christian  Celtic  period  derived  from  this  earlier 
Teutonic  source?  These  are  questions  the  full 
discussion  of  which  would  carry  us  far,  and  on  which 
the  following  must  in  this  place  suffice. 

Animal  ornament  is  admitted  by  all  workers  in 
this  subject  to  be  the  most  important  artistic  pro- 
duct of  the  Germans  of  the  migration  period.  Salin 
says  of  it  ''the  German  animal  ornament  will  al- 
ways remain  for  all  time  a  most  characteristic  ex- 
pression of  the  German  imagination.''  To  Sophus 
Muller  it  is  ''the  only  really  original  form  of  art 
that  was  created  by  the  pre-historic  peoples  north  of 
the  Alps."  The  general  character  of  this  ornament 
is  of  course  very  well  known,  for  it  occurs  on  the 
sculptured  stones  and  in  the  metal  work  and  MS. 
illumination  of  Scotland  and  Ireland  in  practically 
the  same  forms  as  those  in  which  we  find  it  over  the 
Germanic  area.  The  beasts,  which  are  commonly 
called  "lacertine"  though  as  a  rule  they  are  in- 
tended for  quadrupeds,  that  in  multitudinous  con- 
volutions spread  themselves  over  the  varying  sur- 
faces of  the  panels  on  stone  or  brooch  or  pictured 
page,  are  familiar  to  all  who  take  the  least  interest 

216 


ANIMAL  MOTIVES 

in  the  art  of  the  early  Christian  centuries.  The 
forms  of  this  zoomorphic  decoration,  from  the  time 
it  assumed  its  characteristic  physiognomy,  say  about 
the  fifth  century,  to  the  date  when  on  the  Continent 
it  was  put  on  one  side  at  the  Carolingian  renais- 
sance, have  been  typologically  analysed  by  Bern- 
hard  Salin  with  a  care  and  an  attention  to  detail 
that  almost  parallel  Romilly  Allen's  classic  treat- 
ment of  the  modifications  of  the  interlacing  pattern  ; 
but  the  point  of  chief  interest  in  the  inquiry,  the 
origin  and  the  earliest  stages  of  development  of  the 
zoomorphic  decoration,  still  remains  obscure.  The 
northern  writers  whose  names  are  chiefly  connected 
with  this  study  hold  widely  divergent  views  as  to 
the  origin  of  this  German  animal  ornament.  No 
one  of  course  now  holds  the  theory  that  this  orna- 
ment is  a  product  of  the  hunter  life  of  the  people,  of 
a  similar  kind  to  the  animal  delineation  of  palaeo- 
lithic times  which  was  the  outcome  of  the  hunter  life 
of  the  cave  dwellers.  This  theory  is  inadmissible 
for  the  reason  that  such  developments  of  animal  art 
begin  with  naturalistic  representations  in  which  not 
ornamental  treatment  but  delineation  is  aimed  at, 
and  in  the  Germanic  area  there  is  little  trace  of  a 
realistic  treatment  of  beasts  of  the  field  such  as  comes 
naturally  to  many  hunter  peoples.    Putting  this 

217 


TEUTONIC  ORNAMENT 


theory  aside  there  are  the  two  views  represented  on 
the  one  side  by  Sophus  Miiller,  who  believes  the 
German  animal  ornament  to  have  been  developed 
on  decorative  lines  from  the  more  or  less  fanciful 
and  sporadic  use  of  animals'  heads  as  the  finish  of 
portions  of  implements  or  pieces  of  furniture,  and  on 
the  other  side  by  Hildebrand,  Sven  Soderberg,  and 
Salin,  who  find  its  origin  in  the  imitation  of  the 
classically  rendered  animal  forms  that  were  common 
in  Roman  art. 

The  truth  seems  to  lie  somewhere  between  these 
two  divergent  views.  There  are  undoubted  traces 
of  classical  influence  in  some  of  the  early  forms  of 
German  beast  ornament,  but  on  the  other  hand 
there  is  also  from  the  first  evidence  of  that  natural 
feeling  for  the  decorative  use  of  animals  which  has 
been  shown  at  so  many  periods  by  so  many  peoples 
known  to  art  history.  Animal  ornament,  it  needs 
hardly  to  be  said,  is  not  merely  a  classical  or  a 
Germanic  fashion,  but  one  practically  universal. 
In  connection  with  the  question.  Classical  or  bar- 
baric, it  must  be  remembered  that  animals  in  classi- 
cal art  were  treated,  if  not  exactly  in  a  naturalistic 
manner,  yet  in  a  conventional  style  which  preserved 
the  dignity  and  specific  character  of  the  creature, 
as  well  as  a  true,  or  at  any  rate  a  plausible,  anato- 

218 


ANIMAL  MOTIVES 


mical  structure.  Animals  of  this  type  do  make 
their  appearance  in  Germanic  art  all  through  its 
history,  though  they  are  somewhat  rare  and  are  as 
a  rule  confined  to  the  southern  parts  of  the  Teu- 
tonic area  ;  these  are  always  however  quite  distinct 
from  the  Germanic  and  later  Celtic  beast  proper, 
which  is  barbaric  in  character,  and  in  which  there 
is  no  specific  character  nor  dignity,  nor  the  slightest 
attempt  at  plausibility  in  anatomical  structure. 

We  must  not  moreover  assume  that  these  classi- 
cal beasts  are  necessarily  derived  from  Roman 
models.  Their  real  origin  must  in  any  case  lie 
further  back.  One  of  the  most  decorative  of  ani^ 
mals,  beloved  of  the  classical  artist  both  in  Greece 
and  Italy,  is  the  lion  or  leopard,  and  this  is  not  in- 
digenous in  those  peninsulas,  but  as  he  appears  in 
their  art  is  an  importation  from  the  east.  When 
such  creatures  appear  in  the  art  of  the  migration 
period,  as  in  the  handles  of  the  gold  baskets  from 
the  Treasure  of  Petrossa  (see  fig.  4  on  Plate  I),  or 
as  flanking  ornaments  at  the  feet  of  fibulae  or  the 
ends  of  buckle  plates,  as  in  fig.  1 20,  we  must  use 
some  mental  reserve  when  we  father  them  upon  a 
Roman  progenitor,  for  they  are  really  as  foreign  to 
Roman  art  as  to  that  of  the  Teutonic  north. 
They  may  have  reached  the  Germans  by  way  of 

219 


TEUTONIC  ORNAMENT 


the  Roman  provincial  workshops  or  come  to  them 
more  directly  through  southern  Russia. 

It  will  be  sufficient  to  take  three  constantly  re- 
curring forms  of  Teutonic  zoomorphic  ornament, 
(i)  where  the  animals  appear  as  in  fig.  120,  (2) 
where  the  head  of  a  beast  forms  the  termination  of 
a  fibula  foot,  of  a  penannular  neck-  or  arm-ring,  of 
the  tip  of  a  buckle  pin,  or  any  similar  object,  and 
(3)  where  it  is  employed  as  decorative  filling  for  a 
panel  or  similar  space.  In  the  case  of  the  first,  we 
have  already  seen  that  the  character  of  the  flank- 
ing creature  makes  it  certain  that  the  motive  was 
a  borrowed  one.  If  we  go  further  and  demon- 
strate that  it  must  have  been  borrowed  from  a 
Roman  source,  we  are  yet  far  from  having  proved 
that  all  Germanic  animals  were  taken  over  from 
the  later  classical  art.  Take  for  example  the  second 
form,  the  terminal  head.  This  is  too  common  a 
motive  in  the  decorative  work  of  the  ancient  and 
medieval  worlds  for  the  hypothesis  of  a  specially 
Roman  origin  to  have  much  intrinsic  weight.  The 
terminal  head  becomes  almost  universal  at  the  foot 
of  the  square-headed  fibulae  that  are  so  common  in 
the  north,  but  if  we  are  asked  to  believe  that 
Roman  example  placed  it  there,  we  may  reply  with 
the  query.  Why  then  did  not  the  Romans  use  the 

220 


ANIMAL  MOTIVES 


terminal  head  for  their  own  cross-bow  fibulae,  the 
square  foot  of  which  seems  almost  to  cry  out  for  a 
zoomorphic  treatment,  that  is  however  never  ac- 
corded to  it  ? 

A  very  curious  phenomenon  is  illustrated  in  fig. 
121  which  shows  a  portion  of  one  of  the  decora- 
tive friezes  from  the  Roman  monument  at  Adam- 
klissi  in  the  Dobruja,  that  Professor  Toelescu  has 
brought  to  Bucharest.  The  head  of  a  wolf-like 
creature  is  added  as  a  terminal  to  a  foliage  scroll 
of  orthodox  antique  style.  This  is  quite  unclassi- 
cal,  and  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  symptom,  abnormal 
in  this  special  place,  of  the  tendency  in  the  times 
towards  the  multiplication  of  animal  motives  in 
decoration.  Fig.  70  on  Plate  XVIII  shows  how 
naturally  a  head  comes  in  as  a  termination  to  a 
neck  ring. 

The  animal  form  that  fills  a  space  like  a  panel 
becomes  a  very  characteristic  motive  in  Teutonic 
ornament,  and  a  little  later  it  is  employed  more 
abundantly  still  in  the  Celtic  art  so  often  referred 
to.    Its  early  history  is  obscure. 

The  earliest  datable  examples  of  the  animal  form 
used  in  this  way,  so  to  speak  on  the  flat,  occur  on 
the  often  mentioned  fibulae  at  Buda-Pest  from  the 
second  treasure  hoard  of  Szilagy  Somlyo.  This 

221 


TEUTONIC  ORNAMENT 


hoard  is  supposed  by  Hampel  and  others  to  be 
rather  later  than  the  first  hoard  with  the  medallions, 
but  von  Pulszky,  who  published  them  in  1890, 
thought  both  sets  of  objects  contemporary  and  of 
the  last  part  of  the  fourth  century  a.d.,  and  there 
seems  nothing  to  contradict  this  very  natural  sup- 
position. On  the  fibula  shown  in  fig.  47  on  Plate 
XII  there  is  a  plastically  treated  lion  of  oriental- 
classical  tradition,  but  beneath  his  paws  he  holds  an 
amorphous  kind  of  creature  that  has  been  called  a 
griffin.  On  another  pair  of  fibulae  in  the  same  set 
there  appear  in  the  midst  of  the  encrusted  garnets 
two  wriggling  worm-like  creatures  with  open  jaws 
that  are  entirely  barbaric.  The  fibulae  themselves 
are  Gothic,  not  classical,  in  technique  and  details, 
and  these  flat  animal  forms  have  nothing  about  them 
that  is  in  the  least  like  Greek  or  Roman  work. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  we  turn  our  attention  to- 
wards the  diagonally  opposite  corner  of  the  Roman 
empire,  we  find  in  the  Rhenish  and  Belgian  mus- 
eums and  those  of  north-eastern  France  objects  in 
which  Roman  and  barbaric  elements  are  less  easily 
distinguished.  There  are  pieces  of  which  the  Ro- 
man design  and  workmanship  are  unmistakable, 
and  that  shown  in  fig.  122,  from  the  valley  of  the 
Moselle,  is  a  good  example.    There  are  also  in- 

222 


ANIMAL  MOTIVES 

numerable  others  of  a  mixed  character  in  which 
barbaric  taste  and  execution  are  apparent  in  the 
working  out  of  a  design  of  Roman  origin.  A  Bur- 
gundian  buckle  from  Cressier  in  the  Museum  at 
Lausanne,  fig.  123,  has  the  ring  and  pin  fashioned 
in  Roman  style,  while  the  unintelligible  inscription 
round  the  square  plate  is  thoroughly  barbaric. 
This  plate  is  ornamented  in  pierced  work  with  two 
rudely  executed  beasts  in  profile  opposed  to  each 
other.  Such  pairs  of  animals,  and  sometimes 
single  beasts,  are  often  represented  in  incised  lines 
or  by  punch  marks  on  buckles  that  represent  the 
mixed  style  just  referred  to,  and  we  may  regard 
these  and  the  beasts  in  fig.  123  as,  at  any  rate 
typologically,  the  first  stages  in  the  development 
of  the  animal  form  as  the  filling  of  a  panel. 

This  development  was  greatly  influenced  by  the 
feeling  for  interlacing,  which,  though  it  does  not 
show  itself  very  early,  becomes  in  later  times  one 
of  the  dominant  feelings  in  the  mind  of  the  northern 
ornamentalist.  The  two  beasts,  that  are  separate 
and  opposed  in  fig.  123,  soon  get  twined  together, 
and  this  process  goes  on  until  we  arrive  at  the 
convoluted  shapes  shown  in  fig.  102  on  Plate  XXVI, 
that  may  be  regarded  as  a  normal  specimen  of  fully 
developed  Germanic  beast  ornament.    The  rela- 

223 


TEUTONIC  ORNAMENT 


tion  of  animals  thus  treated  to  entrelacs  proper 
must  have  a  word.  As  all  students  of  the  subject 
know,  it  has  been  suggested  that  this  relation  was 
so  intimate  that  animal  ornament  really  grew  out 
of  the  entrelacs  by  the  addition  of  the  heads  of 
beasts  to  the  ends  of  the  intertwined  bands,  or 
again,  conversely,  that  the  interlaced  bands  are 
really  the  bodies  of  lacertine  animals  that  have  lost 
their  heads  and  tails.  Neither  of  these  supposi- 
tions is  historically  correct,  but  it  is  quite  true  that 
the  entrelacs  and  the  animals  approach  each  other 
so  nearly  that  they  combine  into  what  is  to  all  in- 
tents and  purposes  a  single  motive.  Though  the 
serpent  form  does  occur,  the  beast  was  originally 
in  almost  every  case  a  quadruped,  and  in  the  ship- 
wreck that  its  anatomy  generally  suffers  it  manages 
very  often  to  preserve  at  least  a  single  claw.  The 
body  of  the  creature  is  however  prolonged  in  ribbon 
shape,  and  is  often  delineated  in  exactly  the  same 
way  as  the  band  of  an  inorganic  interlacement. 

Upon  the  human  figure  as  a  motive  in  Germanic 
ornament  there  is  little  to  be  added  to  what  was 
said  on  a  previous  page  {ante,  p.  19).  Where  the 
figure  is  correctly  and  effectively  rendered  the  mod- 
els for  it  are  drawn  from  the  Mediterranean  world 
and  not  from  Teutonic  sources.    In  the  genuine 

224 


PLATE  XXXI 


121 


123 


121.  ROMAN  FOLIAGE  SCROLL  WLPH  TER- 
MLNTAL  HEADS  OF  BEASTS,  FROM 
ADAM  KLLSSI,  AT  BUCHAREST. 

123.  BURGUNDIAN  BUCKLE  FROM  CRISSIER, 
AT  LAUSANNE,  SHOWING  MIXTURE 
OF  RO.AIAN  AND  BARBARIC  MOTIVES. 


122 


124 


122.  ROMAN  BUCKLE  FROM  THE  MOSELLE 
DISTRICT,  IN  THE  MUSEUM  AT  BONN. 

124.  GOLD  BRACTEATE  WITH  BARBARIC 
TREATMENT  OF  THE  HUMAN  FORM, 
AT  REGENSBURG. 


THE  HUMAN  FORM 

barbaric  decoration  the  human  form  and  face  suffer 
the  strangest  transformations,  and  a  very  quaint 
example  is  shown  in  fig.  1 24.  This  is  a  gold  brac- 
teate  in  the  Museum  at  Regensburg  on  which  is 
displayed  a  huge  human  face  with  two  minute  arms 
and  hands  uplifted  on  each  side  of  it.  Nothing 
more  unclassical  can  well  be  conceived,  but  the  mo- 
tive probably  has  its  ultimate  origin  in  the  figure 
of  Daniel  between  the  lions,  as  seen  in  fig.  i  on 
Plate  I,  or  in  the  centre  of  the  enamelled  disc  from 
Peran  given  in  fig.  iii  on  Plate  XXVIII. 


15 


CHAPTER  XII 


i5:STHETIC  ESTIMATE  OF  EARLY  TEUTONIC  ART 

What  is  originality  in  art  ?  The  work  of  the  Greeks,  the  Japanese, 
the  Cehs,  as  compared  with  that  of  the  Germans.  The  strong 
and  weak  points  of  old  Teutonic  design.  Excellence  of 
Germanic  craftsmanship. 

If  the  main  thesis  of  the  preceding  chapters  be  re- 
garded as  proved,  we  must  accept  the  various  ob- 
jects which  have  been  passed  in  review  as  evincing 
on  the  whole  a  common  Germanic  character,  while 
in  form,  technique,  and  ornamentation  they  exhibit 
the  influence  of  the  different  artistic  cultures  that 
preceded  the  migration  period  or  were  contempo- 
rary with  it.  It  may  be  taken  also  as  demonstrated 
that  as  a  general  rule  the  various  objects  were  made 
in  the  respective  Teutonic  regions,  and  not  distri- 
buted from  any  common  centres  outside  the  Ger- 
manic area. 

Looking  back  for  a  moment  as  we  close  on  Ger- 

226 


ORIGINALITY  IN  ART 


manic  art  as  a  whole,  we  may  ask  ourselves  what 
is  the  aesthetic  impression  that  it  has  left  upon  our 
minds  ?  There  are  two  questions,  one  of  the  origin- 
ality of  the  art,  the  other  of  its  intrinsic  aesthetic 
quality. 

Absolute  originality  in  art  does  exist,  but  it  is 
rarer  than  we  might  at  first  sight  suppose.  A  good 
example  is  the  use  of  decorative  motives  drawn  from 
the  life  of  the  sea  in  the  old  ^gean  or  Mycenaean 
art  now  so  popular.  Another  is  the  acanthus  orna- 
ment of  the  Greeks.  These  are  clear  cases  of  inven- 
tion, not  of  the  development  of  pre-existing  tra- 
ditions. In  the  vast  majority  of  cases  however,  an 
individual  artist,-or  an  artistic  people  or  school,  builds 
to  a  greater  or  less  extent  upon  what  has  gone  be- 
fore, and  however  fresh  and  striking  may  be  the 
resultant  product,  it  cannot  be  called  in  the  severe 
and  literal  sense,  original.  Looked  at  from  this 
point  of  view  neither  the  art  of  Greece  nor  that  of 
Japan  is  strictly  original,  nor  again  is  the  beautiful 
decorative  art  of  the  Late  Celtic  period.  On  this 
the  late  Mr.  Romilly  Allen,  who  would  do  full  justice 
to  everything  Celtic,  has  the  following  remarks : 

Although  the  Celts  never  seem  to  have  invented 
any  new  ideas,  they  possessed  an  extraordinary 
aptitude  for  picking  up  ideas  from  the  different 

227 


ESTHETIC  COMPARISONS 


peoples  with  whom  war  or  commerce  brought  them 
into  contact.  And  once  the  Celt  had  borrowed  an 
idea  from  his  neighbour,  he  was  able  to  give  it  such 
a  strong  Celtic  tinge  that  it  soon  became  something 
so  different  from  what  it  was  originally  as  to  be 
almost  unrecognizable/'  He  speaks  too  of  the 
tendency  of  the  Celt  to  copy  rather  than  invent." 
Originality  in  art  accordingly  does  not  necessarily 
depend  on  invention,  but  on  the  extent  to  which 
the  borrowed  or  inherited  suggestion  can  be  de- 
veloped into  some  new  and  striking  contribution 
to  the  aesthetic  treasures  of  mankind.  The  Greeks, 
the  Japanese,  the  Celts,  have  all  made  such  contri- 
butions. What  they  accomplished  is  something 
which  had  never  been  done  before  and  can  never 
be  repeated.  The  individuality  of  creative  genius 
is  stamped  upon  the  product,  and  when  we  call  it 
by  the  name  of  the  people  that  gave  it  birth,  and 
by  no  other  name,  we  are  asserting  that  it  is,  in  the 
broad  and  rational  sense  here  contended  for,  an 
original  product. 

Applying  this  test  to  our  Germanic  art  we  find 
that  it  fulfils  it.  The  term  a  common  Germanic 
character  "  is  fully  justified,  although  many  foreign 
elements  were  worked  up  into  the  completed  pro- 
duct that  we  have  now  come  to  know.    A  native 

228 


GERMAN  AND  CELTIC 


taste  was  actively  at  work  modifying  these  imported 
elements  and  imparting  to  everything  a  Germanic 
colour,  and  the  result  stands  out  as  a  distinct, 
though  at  the  same  time  a  modest,  contribution  to 
the  sum  of  our  aesthetic  possessions. 

Distinct,  but  modest ;  for  the  qualities  of  Germanic 
art,  from  the  purely  aesthetic  standpoint,  do  not 
take  a  very  high  rank.  It  needs  hardly  to  be  said 
that  the  early  Teutonic  designer  could  not  represent 
natural  forms  either  with  the  accuracy  and  spirit  of 
the  Dutch  artist  or  with  the  idealizing  touch  of  the 
Greek,  and  that  he  had  not  the  gift  of  the  Japanese 
craftsman  of  turning  everything  he  touched  to 
beauty. 

Such  comparisons  are  perhaps  hardly  fair.  It  is 
more  to  the  point  to  contrast  this  Teutonic  art  with 
the  native  art  of  western  Europe  in  the  Late  Celtic 
period.  The  Teutonic  artist  was  inferior  to  his 
Celtic  rival  in  the  important  matter  of  tact  and  self- 
restraint  in  the  distribution  of  ornament,  as  well  as 
in  that  other  quality,  equally  decisive  in  aesthetic 
comparisons,  the  artistic  use  of  line.  A  comparison 
has  often  been  instituted  between  barbaric  orna- 
ment, which  tends  to  spread  itself  aimlessly  over 
the  whole  field,  and  classical  ornament  as  we  find  it 
among  the  Greeks,  where  it  is  confined  to  portions 

229 


^ESTHETIC  COMPARISONS 

of  the  field  and  derives  a  large  part  of  its  value  from 
its  contrast  with  the  broadly  treated  background. 
It  would  not  of  course  be  just  to  confront  barbaric 
work  with  specimens  of  Greek  art  of  the  finest  type, 
but  a  useful  comparison  may  be  drawn  between  the 
ornamentation  of  the  various  Germanic  pieces  which 
appear  on  the  plates  of  this  volume,  and  a  piece  of 
Greek  inlaid  work  probably  of  the  Ptolemaic  period 
in  Egypt,  shown  in  fig.  126.  It  is  a  portion  of  a 
platter  at  Buda-Pest.  We  note  in  it  the  firm  grasp 
of  the  classical  artist  on  the  natural  forms  that  he 
conventionalizes  in  such  a  highly  decorative  fashion. 
We  admire  the  contrast  of  slight  and  fuller  forms, 
and  the  careful  distribution  which  secures  a  surface 
fully  covered  without  crowding,  and  gives  the  plain 
background  its  part  to  do  in  the  production  of  the 
effect.  Celtic  art  at  its  best,  as  we  find  it  for 
example  on  the  Thames  Shield  in  the  British 
Museum  (fig.  125),  in  the  Ardagh  Chalice,  and 
some  bronze  pieces  in  the  Museum  of  the  Royal 
Irish  Academy,  and  on  the  sumptuous  pages  of 
pure  enrichment  in  the  great  manuscripts,  exhibits 
a  feeling  for  distribution  and  for  the  value  of  plain 
or  diapered  background  that  in  its  self-restraint  is 
almost  classical.  Furthermore,  in  those  splendid 
flamboyant  curves  with  all  their  swing  and  freedom, 

230 


PLATE  XXXII 


126 

125.  THE  THAMES  SHIELD,  LATE-CELTIC  WORK,  IN  BRITISH  MUSEUM. 

126.  HELLENISTIC  INLAID  ORNAMENT,   FROM  PLATTER  AT  BUDA-PEST. 


TEUTONIC  CRAFTSMANSHIP 


we  can  recognize  a  delight  in  the  beauty  of  pure 
line  that  is  a  really  high  aesthetic  endowment,  not 
too  often  represented  among  the  artists  of  the  world. 
The  Teutonic  artist  had  an  eye  for  bold  and  strik- 
ing decorative  effects.  The  contrast  of  bright  silver 
and  dark  iron  pleased  him  on  his  buckles  and  wea- 
pons, and  in  the  finer  work  on  the  fibulae  and  pen- 
dants he  delighted  in  the  rich  crimson  and  gold  of 
the  garnet  inlays.  But  his  ornament  was  all  over 
his  surface,  and  he  lost  the  value  of  the  contrast  of 
richly  treated  portions  of  a  field  with  plain  back- 
ground. As  was  shown  however  in  a  previous 
chapter,  his  technical  achievement  was  superb,  and 
his  bold  but  at  the  same  time  refined  execution 
gives  an  unmistakable  air  of  distinction  to  his  work. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


The  following  notice  of  the  literature  bearing  on  the  subject 
of  this  book  contains  an  indication  of  one  or  more  of  the  chief 
works  bearing  upon  each  of  its  main  topics.  In  each  of  these 
works  there  will  as  a  rule  be  found  references  to  the  further 
literature  of  its  special  theme.  In  the  case  of  works  in  the 
Scandinavian,  Magyar,  or  Russian  languages,  translations,  where 
these  exist,  have  been  quoted. 

I.  Works  of  a  General  and  a  Historical  Character 

As  a  treatise  on  the  whole  subject  in  most  of  its  aspects, 
Lindenschmit's  Handbuch  derDeuischen  Alterthumskunde^  erster 
Theil^  Die  Alterthumer  der  Merovingischen  Zeit^  Braunschweig, 
1 880-1889,  still  remains  the  only  work  in  the  field ;  it  has  un- 
fortunately no  index.  Dr.  A.  Haupt,  in  his  Die  Aelteste  Kunst^ 
insbesondere  die  Baukunst  der  Germanen^  Leipzig,  1909,  has 
given  in  a  somewhat  popular  style  an  account  of  the  architec- 
ture, and  to  a  minor  extent  of  the  other  arts,  of  the  Germans 
between  the  beginning  of  the  migration  period  and  the  time 
of  Charles  the  Great. 

A  vast  apparatus  of  ethnographical,  linguistic,  literary,  and 
antiquarian  lore,  bearing  on  the  subject,  is  being  presented  in 
a  noble  monument  of  German  scholarship,  the  second  edition 
of  the  Grundriss  der    Germanischen  Philologie    edited  by 

232 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Hermann  Paul,  Strassburg,  1901,  etc.  For  the  succession  of 
styles  through  the  Bronze  Ages,  Early  Iron  Age,  etc.,  Sophus 
Muller's  Urgeschichte  Europas,  Strassburg,  1905,  is  to  be 
recommended,  together  with  the  small  British  Museum  Guides 
to  the  Antiquities  of  the  Bronze  Age  and  Early  Iron  Age, 
1904  and  1905. 

Of  the  history  of  the  Migrations  (with  the  exception  of  the 
movements  leading  to  the  Teutonic  settlements  in  Britain) 
Dr.  Hodgkin's  Italy  and  her  Invaders^  2nd  edition,  London, 
1 892-1 896,  gives  a  full  account,  with  a  critical  notice  of  the 
older  authorities.    A  compact  presentment  of  the  subject  from 
the   standpoint   of  to-day,  with  an   ample  bibliographical 
apparatus,  will  be  found  in  the  recent  work  by  Dr.  Ludwig 
Schmidt  of  Dresden,  Allgemeine  Geschichte  der  Germanischen 
Vdlker  bis  zur  Mitte  des  seeks  ten  Jfahrhunderts^  Miinchen  und 
Berlin,  1909.    The  obscure  subject  of  the  Teutonic  conquest 
of  Britain  has  received  fresh  elucidation  from  the  researches  of 
H.  MuNRO  Chadwick,  the  results  of  which  are  embodied  in 
his  Studies  on  Anglo-Saxon  Institutions^  Cambridge,  1905, 
and   his   Origin  of  the  English  Nation^  Cambridge,  1907. 
Hoops,  Waldbdume  und  Kulturpflanzen  im  Germanischen  Alter- 
tum,  Strassburg,   1905,   p.  566  ff.,  and  Krom,  de  populis 
Germanis  antique  tempore  patriam  nostram  incolentibus  Anglo- 
saxonumque  migrationibus,  Lugd.  Bat.,  1908,  with  Schmidt,  as 
above,  may  be  consulted  upon  the  view  of  the  invasions  taken 
in  the  text  (see  ante,  p.  182). 

Martin  Bang,  die  Germanen  im  Romischen  Dienst,  etc., 
Berlin,  1906,  shows  the  position  of  the  Germans  in  the  armies 
of  the  Empire.  The  geography  of  the  larger  region  to  the  east 
embraced  in  the  survey  in  the  text  is  well  explained  in  The 
Treasure  of  the  Oxus,  by  O.  M.  Dalton,  London,  1905. 

233 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


II.  Works  dealing  with  the  Antiquities  of  Extended 
Regions  or  Groups  of  Peoples 

A.  Non-Teutonic  Peoples 

The  antiquities  of  Southern  Russia  are  described  by 
Kondakoff,  Tolstoi,  and  S.  Reinach  in  their  Antiquites  de  la 
Russie  Meridionale^  Paris,  1891,  while  The  Treasure  of  the 
Oxus  (see  above)  takes  its  readers  further  to  the  East.  On 
all  questions  concerning  the  influence  of  the  nearer  East  on 
Western  art  in  this  period  the  works  of  Josef  Strzygowski 
must  be  consulted.  Celtic  art  in  its  various  aspects  is  dealt 
with  by  RoMiLLY  Allen  in  his  Celtic  Art  in  Pagan  and 
Christian  Times^  London,  1904.  For  Hallstatt  there  is  the 
well-known  work  of  von  Sacken,  Das  Grabfeld  von  Hallstatt^ 
etc.,  Wien,  1868,  and  La  Tene  un  Oppidum  Helvete^  by  Victor 
Gross,  Paris,  1887,  serves  for  the  subject  indicated  by  its 
title. 

B.  Teutonic  Peoples 

The  foremost  place  must  be  taken  here  by  Joseph  Hampel's 
AlterthUmer  des  friihen  Mittelalters  in  Ungarn,  Braunschweig, 
1905,  an  elaborate  account  of  the  Hungarian  antiquities  of  the 
period,  that  still  however  leaves  unsettled  some  of  the  difficult 
ethnographical  problems  of  the  region.  The  antiquities  of  the 
western  group  of  the  peoples  treated  of  in  this  book,  the  Visi- 
goths, the  Burgundians,  the  Alemanni,  and  the  Franks,  are 
elaborately  reviewed  by  M.  C.  Barrij^re-Flavy  in  his  Les 
Arts  Industriels  des  Peuples  Barbares  de  la  Gaule  du  V^^  au 
Yjjjme  Siecle,  Toulouse  and  Paris,  1901.  The  work,  which 
must  be  used  with  some  caution,  is  accompanied  with 
a  splendid  apparatus  of  plates  and  a  full  bibliography.  For 
the  archaeology  of  the  Teutonic  invaders  of  Britain,  the  articles 

234 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


on  the  subject  in  the  Victoria  History  of  the  Counties  of 
England^  London,  1900,  etc.  (in  progress),  with  their  references 
to  the  older  literature,  supply  ample  material  to  the  student. 
Scandinavian  Arts^  by  Hans  Hildebrand,  S.K.M.  Art 
Handbook,  London,  1883,  is  a  good  short  introduction  to  the 
antiquities  of  the  North  as  represented  in  Norway,  Sweden, 
and  Gotland,  while  Sophus  Muller  deals  more  fully  with 
those  of  Denmark  and  Schleswig  in  his  NordiscJie  Altertums- 
kunde^  Strassburg,  1897. 

in.  Works  referring  to  the  Antiquities  of  Single 
Countries  or  Peoples,  or  to  the  Exploration  of 
Typical  Cemeteries 

a.  Sweden  :  Montelius,  Kulturgeschichte  Swedens^  Leipzig. 
1906. 

b.  Denmark  and  Schleswig-Holstein :  Danish  Arts,  by 
J.  J.  A.  WoRSAAE,  S.K.M.  Handbook,  London,  1882  ;  Denmark 
in  the  Early  Iron  Age,  by  C.  Engelhardt,  London,  1866  ; 
Mestorf,  Vorgeschichtliche  Alterthiimer  aus  Schleswig-Holstein, 
Hamburg,  1885. 

c.  Northern  Germany :  J.  H.  Muller,  Vor-  und  frUh- 
geschichtliche  Alterthiimer  der  Provinz  Hannover,  Hannover, 

d.  The  Goths :  Hampel,  as  above  ;  BARRii:RE-FLAVY,  as 
above ;  A.  Gotze,  Gotische  Schnallen,  Berlin,  1907 ;  De 
Baye,  La  Bijouterie  des  Goths  en  Russie,  and  De  V Influence 
de  r art  des  Goths  en  Occident,  Paris,  1892  and  1891. 

e.  The  Vandals  :  Papencordt,  Geschichte  der  Vandalischen 
Herrschaft  in  Africa,  Berlin,  1837  ;  De  Bayb:,  Bijoux  Vandals, 
etc.,  Paris,  1888. 

/.  The   Alemanni :   BARRifeRE-FLAVV,  as   above ;   T.  W. 

235 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Grobbels,  Der  Reihengrdberfund  von  GammertingeUy  Miinchen 
1905- 

g.  The  Bavarians :  Max  von  Chlingensperg-Berg,  JDas 
Grdberfeld  von  Reichenhall  in  Oberbayern^  Reichenhall,  1890. 

h.  The  Burgundians :  Barri^ire-Flavy,  as  above;  H. 
Baudot,  Memoire  sur  les  Sepultures  des  Barbares  de  rSpoque 
Mirovingienne  decouvertes  en  Bourgogne^  i860. 

/.  The  Lombards  :  Venturi,  Storia  deW  Arte  Italiana, 
Milano,  1902,  vol.  ii.  ;  De  Baye,  Industrie  Longobarde,  Paris, 
1888;  La  necropoli  barbarica  di  Cast  el  Trosino,  by  R. 
Mengarelli,  in  the  Monunienti  Antichi  of  the  Lincei,  vol.  xii., 
1902. 

j.  The  Franks :  Barriere-Flavy,  as  above ;  Boulanger, 
Le  Mobilier  Funeraire  Gallo-Romain  et  Franc^  St.  Quentin, 
1903  ;  J.  PiLLOY,  Atudes  sur  d^Anciens  Lieux  de  Sepultures 
dansVAisne^  St.  Quentin,  1886-1903. 

Various  papers  in  the  Annates  de  la  Societe  Archeologique  de 
JVamur, 

IV.  Publications  on  Special  Points  of  Esthetic 
OR  Technical  Interest 

The  Archaeology  of  the  weapons,  ornaments,  etc.,  of  the 
Teutonic  peoples  is  dealt  with  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  in 
nearly  all  the  works  mentioned  in  this  bibliography.  To  these 
might  be  added  an  embarrassing  number  of  publications  which 
exist  on  various  special  departments  of  the  subject,  notably 
on  the  different  forms  of  the  fibula  and  on  enamel.  On  the 
former  subject  a  classical  work  is  Almgren's  Studien  ilber 
nordeuropdische  Fibelformen,  Stockholm,  1897,  while  the  latter 
is  discussed  at  length  by  Kondakow  in  his  Geschichte  und 
Denkmdler  des  Byzantinischen  Emails^  Frankfurt,  1892.  The 

236 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


subject  of  enamel  is  well  treated  in  the  British  Museum 
Guide  to  the  Antiquities  of  the  Early  Iron  Age^  and  Guide  to 
the  Mediceval  Room,  1907.  Of  all  writings  on  the  morphology 
and  the  technique  of  the  objects  illustrating  the  art  of  the 
period,  those  by  Otto  Tischler  of  Konigsberg,  who  died  in 
1891,  are  perhaps  the  most  illuminating,  and  the  following 
may  be  singled  out  as  specially  useful  to  the  student.  The 
volume  of  the  Schriften  der  Fhys,-Okon.  Gesellschaft  zu  Konigs- 
berg^ for  1899,  contains  a  valuable  paper  on  Roman  finds  in 
Northern  Europe,  that  for  1886  papers  on  the  History  of 
Enamel  and  on  Glass  beads.  The  sixteenth  volume  of  the 
Archiv  filr  Anthropologie  gives  the  author's  views  on  the  finds 
in  the  Caucasus,  on  Glass  beads,  and  on  the  Morphology  of  the 
Buckle.  He  had  a  long  paper  on  the  Forms  of  the  Fibula,  in 
the  4th  volume  of  the  Beitrdge  zur  Anthropologie  und  Urge- 
schichte  Bay  ems. 

The  subject  of  the  Glass  of  the  period  is  included  in  the 
elaborate  work  by  Anton  Kisa,  Das  Glas  im  Alfertume, 
Leipzig,  1908,  but  the  usefulness  of  the  book  is  greatly  im- 
paired by  the  fact  that  the  illustrations  are  placed  without  any 
reference  to  the  text.  For  metal  work,  V.  Tahon,  La  Forgerie 
de  Fer  chez  les  Francs,  Malines,  1891,  and  Galy,  DArt  du 
Placage  et  de  VStamage  chez  les  Gaulois,  may  be  consulted. 

On  the  question  of  the  origin  and  history  of  the  inlaid  work 
so  characteristic  of  the  period,  the  views  of  Riegl,  in  his 
Spdtromische  Kunst- Industrie,  Wien,  1901,  have  been  in  the 
main  supported  by  Director  von  Falke,  now  of  the  Berlin 
Kunstgewerbe  Museum,  in  his  contribution  (Kapitel  VI.)  to 
Lehnert's  new  Illustrierte  Geschichte  des  KunstgewerbeSj 
Berlin,  in  progress.  On  the  other  side  there  are  numerous 
publications,  one  of  the  best  being  the  paper  by  Mr.  O.  M. 

237 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Dalton  of  the  British  Museum,  in  the  58th  volume  of 
ArchcBologia,  entitled  *'On  some  points  in  the  History  of 
Inlaid  Jewellery,"  which  may  be  read  usefully  in  connection 
with  the  same  writer's  Treasure  of  the  Oxus,  Paul  Reinecke's 
paper  questioning  the  early  date  of  the  Kettlach  enamels  and 
the  objects  of  the  "  Keszthely  Group,"  in  Mittheilungen  der 
anthropologischen  Gesellschaft  in  Wien,  Bd.  xxix.  (1899), 
should  not  be  omitted  from  consideration. 

The  much  debated  subject  of  zoomorphic  ornament  is  fully 
treated,  with  references  to  the  earlier  literature,  by  Dr.  Bern- 
hard  Salin  in  his  Altgermanische  2'hierornamenttk^  Stockholm, 
1904,  and  this  book,  which  is  wider  in  scope  than  its  title 
implies,  contains  a  large  amount  of  valuable  matter  bearing  on 
the  subject  of  early  Teutonic  art  in  general. 


INDEX 


Acanthus,  the  classical,  96,  210, 

213,  227. 
Adamklissi,    in    the  Dobruja, 

monument  at,  221. 
Aetius,  70,  84. 

Africa  ;  finds  in,  79  ;  Teutons 

in,  4,  79. 
Agathias,  referred  to,  46,  123. 
Akerman,  J.  Yonge,  referred  to, 

12. 

Alani,  the,  39. 

Albanus,  the  Ubian,  his  monu- 
ment, 36. 

Alemanni,  the,  54,  81  ff.,  91, 
127  ;  art  of,  see  "Art"  ; 
battle  of,  with  Julian,  44, 
49 ;  cemeteries  of,  see 
"Cemeteries." 

Allen,  J.  Romilly  ;  quoted,  227  ; 
referred  to,  213,  217. 

Altars,  Roman,  their  ornamenta- 
tion, 209. 

Amber,  151,  166,  168. 

Ammianus  Marcellinus,  referred 
to,  42,  97,  120. 

Angles,  the,  53,  55,  56,  76,  182. 
See  also  ''Objects,  Cus- 
toms, etc." 

"  Anghan"  style,  the,  214. 


Anglo-Saxons,  the,  see  "Art" 
and  "Objects,  Customs, 
etc." 

Angon,  123  f. 

Animal  ornament,  see  "  Orna- 
ment, zoomorphic." 

Anthropologia  Suecica^  referred 
to,  41. 

Apahida,  Hungary,  finds  at,  148. 
Appliques,  149. 
Arcadius,  Emperor,  131. 
Archaeology,    its    relation  to 

history,  7. 
Architecture,  in  the  migration 

period,  16. 
Ardagh  chalice,  the,  230. 
Ardashir,  180. 

Arianism,  of  the  Germans,  57. 
Arians  and  Catholics,  80. 
Ariovistus,  60. 
Arminius,  35,  53,  56. 
Armour,  "damascened,"  187. 
Armourer,  craft  of  the,  184  f. 
Arms,  117  ff.,  2iX\d passim. 
Army,  the  Roman,  35  ff. 
Arrows,  113,  129. 
Art :  Carolingian,  21,  95  f.,  197, 

215;  Early-Christian,  1 8  f. ; 

Greek,   117,    194,  230; 


239 


INDEX 


Late-Celtic,  i8,  i68,  205 
f.,  213,  221,  227  ff.  ; 
Persian,  177  f.;  Sasanian, 
26,  181  ;  "Scythic,"  75, 
178  f. ;  Siberian,  175,  179  : 
Art  :  Teutonic  ;  its  character,  2, 
226  ff. ;  its  history,  21,  and 
passim  ;  its  independence 
and  originality,  13  f.,  165 
ff.,  183,  216,  228  ;  its  pre- 
history, 165  ff.;  its  tech- 
nical achievement,  184  ff , 
1955  231  ;  its  uniformity, 
208  ;  its  variety,  10  : 
Of  the  different  Teutonic 
peoples  ;  the  Alemanni, 
122,  the  Anglo-Saxons, 

137,  182,  214,  the  Burgun- 
dians,  19,  the  Franks,  94, 
the  Goths,  138,  148,  181, 
the  Jutes,  182,  200,  the 
Lombards,  16,  88,  94,  the 
Ostrogoths,  73  f.,  the 
Scandinavians,  166,  195, 
the  Vandals,  79,  the  Vi- 
kings, 21,  138,  166,  the 
Visigoths,  25,  29  f.,  71, 

138,  145.    pIso,  passim. 
Artaxerxes,  180. 

Ascoli,  cemetery  near,  loi. 
Athaulf,  69. 

Attila,  king  of  the  Huns,  72  f.  ; 
his  seat  in  Hungary,  51, 
209. 

Augustus,  frontier  policy  of,  61. 
Avars,  the,  92. 

Axe:  battle,  113,  117,  124  ff, 
185  ;  small,  in  graves  of 
boys,  113:  woodman's, 
125. 


Baer,  his  Grdber  der  Liven  re- 
ferred to,  43. 

Balkh,  finds  near,  178. 

Bardengau,  87. 

Bastarnse,  the,  42,  49,  59. 

Battleaxe,  see  "Axe  :  battle.' 

Bavarians,  the,  54,  83,  92. 

Beads ;  amber,  151;  amethyst, 
152;  glass,  150  f  ;  rock 
crystal,  154. 

Bel-Air,  near  Lausanne,  ceme- 
tery at,  loi. 

Belgium,  finds  in,  30,  102,  113, 
121,  125. 

Belisarius,  74,  79. 

Belts,  48,  147,  149,  192. 

Beowulf^  56,  117,  187. 

Bertha,  daughter  of  Charles  the 
Great,  132. 

Bird  forms,  in  Teutonic  art,  138, 
150,  214. 

Bohemia,  54,  60. 

Boii,  the,  54,  60. 

Book-covers,  jewelled,  22. 

Bow,  the,  use  of,  113,  126. 

Bowls,  bronze,  159,  192,  206. 

"  Braccae,"  the,  45. 

Bracteates,  155  f,  208,  225. 

Britain,  finds  in,  31,  103,  107, 
112,  121,  124,  126,  135, 
137,  138,  142,  150,  154, 
156,  157,  158,  159,  160, 
161,  182,  190,  192,  200, 
201,  206,  209,  210,  214, 
230. 

Britons,  as  enamellers,  175,  196. 
Bronze ;  age  of,  in  Denmark, 
167;  vessels,  34,  159, 
192,  206. 
Brooches  ;  see  "  Fibulae  "  ; 
modern,  137  ;  Roman 
enamelled,  196. 


Bactria,  finds  in,  178. 

240 


\ 


INDEX 


Buckets,  wooden,  i6o. 

Buckle  plates,  146  f. 

Buckles :  Burgundian,  19,  43, 
148,  Frankish,  43,  148, 
size  and  weight  of,  43, 
133,  148;  Gothic,  148; 
Roman,  133 ;  found  at 
Pompeii,  133  : 
Place  of  invention,  133  ;  his- 
tory, 133  f ,  146  f.,  223  ; 
materials,  146,  148,  192  ; 
technique  of  manufacture, 
192  ;  size  and  weight,  43, 
133,  148,  149  ;  ornamen- 
tation, 19,  146,  192,  212, 
219  f.,  223 ;  modes  of 
wearing,  33,  47,  48,  132, 
148,  149. 

Bulgarians,  the,  92. 

Burgundians,  the,  83  ff.,  91  ;  art 
of,  see  "Art'';  ethnog- 
raphy of,  52  ;  stature  of, 
42. 

Butilin,  46. 

Cabochon,  en,  fashion  in  gem 
setting,  200. 

Caesar,  Julius,  60,  209 ;  referred 
to,  42,  44,  49. 

Carolingian ;  art,  see  "Art,  Caro- 
lingian";  renaissance,  21, 
96,  215,  217. 

Cassiodorus,  quoted,  187. 

Castel  Trosino,  Italy,  cemetery 
at,  loi,  105. 

Casting,  see  "  Techniques." 

Caucasus,  the,  early  enamels 
from,  196. 

Celtic  Art,  168,  205,  227  f. ;  debt 
of  Teutons  to,  160,  205  f.  ; 
enamelling  in,  196 ;  in- 
fluence of  Teutonic  art 


on,  206  f ,  213  ;  regions 
of,  58,  61  ;  zoomorphic 
ornament  in,  216  ff.  See 
also  "Art,  Late-Celtic." 
Cemeteries  :  memorials  in,  107: 
Teutonic,  97  ff.  ;  dates  of,  1 1 1 ; 
of  the  Alemanni,  82,  103, 
the  Angles,  103,  the  Bava- 
rians, 103,  the  Burgun- 
dians, ICQ,  the  Franks, 
102  f ,  148,  the  Jutes,  99  f , 
103,  107,  157,  the  Lom- 
bards, loi,  105,  the  Mer- 
cians, 103,  the  North  Ger- 
mans, 104,  the  Ostrogoths, 
loi,  the  Saxons,  103,  the 
Visigoths,  71,  loi. 
Chalices,  22,  230. 
Charles  the  Great,  89  ff.  ;  his 
culture,  95,  his  daughters, 
132,  his  dress,  471  f ,  his 
empire,  5,  6,  93,  his 
meals,  1 57,  his  Teutonism, 
18,  95. 

Charnay,  Burgundy,  finds  at,  77^ 

loi,  159. 
Chasing,  see  "  Techniques." 
Chatelaine,  153. 
Chauci,  the,  53. 
Cherusci,  the,  53. 
Chessell  Down,  Isle  of  Wight, 

cemetery  at,  103. 
Childeric,  chief  of  the  Salian 
Franks,  89 :    his  tomb, 
30    f. ;  axe   from,  125, 
crystal    ball   from,  157, 
fibula  from,  141,  ring  from, 
31,  spear  from,  122,  sword 
from,  121;  200. 
"  Chip-carving  "  patterns,  208  f 
Chosroes,    cup    of,    175,  181, 
199. 

241  16 


INDEX 


Church,  the  ;  and  art,  i8f.,  214  ; 
influence  on  burial  cus- 
toms of,  no,  175. 

Cimbri  and  Teutones,  6,  53,  59. 

Cinerary  urns,  see  "  Urns, 
sepulchral.'' 

Cividale,  16;  cemetery  at,  102. 

Clasp,  19. 

Claudian,  34. 

Claudius  Gothicus,  Emperor,  38, 
39,67. 

Clovis,  71,  88,  89  f.;  conversion 

of,  57,  89. 
Cochet,  Abbe,  referred  to,  12, 

103. 

Coffins,  108,  185. 

Coins;  Byzantine,  9,  27,  155, 
Frankish,  90,  Roman,  27, 
155,  of  Magnentius,  38; 
chronological  value  of,  27, 
155,   180;  as  pendants. 

Combs,  154. 

Conversions,  of  the  Teutonic 
peoples,  57  ;  of  the  Ale- 
manni,  82,  the  Burgun- 
dians,  84,  the  Franks,  57, 
the  Goths,  68,  the  Lom- 
bards, 87,  the  Vandals,  78. 

Corcelette,  Neuchatel,  finds  at, 
189. 

Cremation;  and  Inhumation, 
104  f.  ;  urns  for,  158. 

Cressier,  Vaud,  find  at,  223. 

Crimea,  the,  finds  in,  10 1,  145. 

Cross  ;  as  Christian  sign,  19 ; 
St.  Cuthbert's,  31  ;  at 
Ruthwell,  20. 

Crosses ;  carved,  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  period,  16,  20,  214  ; 
gold,  of  the  Lombards, 
88,  149, 191. 


Crown,  the  Iron,  of  Lombardy, 
198. 

Crowns,  votive,  29. 
"  Culter,"  see  "  Knife." 
Cuthbert,  Saint,  cross  of,  31. 

Dacia,  61,  67. 

Dahshur,  Egypt,  find  at,  177. 
Damascening,  see  "Techniques." 
Daniel  between  the  lions,  orna- 
mental motive,  19,  225. 
Decius,  Emperor,  67. 
Denmark,  finds  in,  30,  34,  167. 
Diadem,  149. 

Discs ;  for  suspension,  153 ; 
transparent  as  inlays, 
181. 

Douglas,  his  Nenia  Britannica 

referred  to,  12. 
Durandus,  quoted,  109. 
Durham,  find  at,  31. 
Durrow,  Book  of,  207. 

Earrings,  i52f. 

East,  the,  its  influence  on  Teu- 
tonic art,  75,  117,  171, 
176  ff.,  204  ff.,  214. 

Egypt ;  finds  in,  79,  177  ;  inlaid 
work  in,  175  ff.,  195 ; 
orientation  of  tombs  in, 
109. 

Ello,  23. 

Enamelling,  see  "  Techniques." 
Entrelacs^    see    "  Interlacing- 

work." 
Etruscan  jewellery,  194. 
Eudoxia,  Frankish  maiden,  131. 

Fairford,  Gloucestershire,  ceme- 
tery at,  103. 

Falke,  Director  von,  referred  to, 
13. 


242 


INDEX 


Faussett,  Bryan,  referred  to,  12, 
103. 

Fetigny,  Fribourg,  finds  at, 
148. 

Fibulae :  Gothic,  28,  138,  145, 
198,  222;  Greek,  136; 
La  Tene,  141  ;  Lombard, 
88,  145  ;  Roman,  141, 
144,  169  ;  Sarmatian,  39  : 

From  Gotland,  201  ;  Kerch, 
145  ;  Kiev,  145  ;  Kings- 
ton (Kent),  112,  137; 
Petrossa,  24,  136 ;  Sack- 
rau,  144 ;  Szilagy  Somlyo, 
28,  145,  198,  221  : 

History,  133  ff.,  137,  139  ff.; 
technique,  143,  192 ; 
materials,  138,  200  f.,  ena- 
mel, 198,  white  substance, 
200  f. ;  animal  ornament 
on,  219  ;  parts,  140,  forms 
of  head,  142,  forms  of 
foot,  144,  220 ;  spiral 
springs,  141,  143  f. ;  pen- 
dants to,  136  : 

Types,  134;  Ring  Type,  134  f., 
its  connection  with  the 
buckle,  135,  penannular 
sub-type  (Viking  and 
Celtic),  135  ;  Plate  Type 
(Frankish,  Jutish,  Saxon), 
135  fl,  (Roman)  136, 
(modern)  137,  "saucer" 
sub -type,  137  f.,  210, 
"  applied"  sub-type,  138  ; 
"Safety-pin"  Type,  139 
ff.,  "cross-bow"  sub-type 
(Roman),  141,  220  f., 
"  cruciform  "  sub  -  type 
(Norwegian),  203  ;  bird 
form,  138  ;  fanciful  forms, 

138: 


Fibulae  :  Modes  of  wearing,  48, 
50,  132. 

Filigree  work,  see  "  Techniques." 
Flint  and  steel,  157. 
Foliage  ornament,  96,  210,  213  f., 
215. 

Folkestone,  cemetery  at,  100, 
157. 

Fonlak,  Hungary,  finds  at,  191. 

"Framea,"  122. 

"  Francisca,"  124. 

Franks,  the,  54,  57,  88  ff. ;  art  of, 
see  "Art";  cemeteries  of, 
see  "  Cemeteries." 

Frisians,  the,  53. 

Gallo-Roman  enamels,  182. 

Gammertingen,  Hohenzollern, 
cemetery  at,  113. 

Garnet  inlays,  164, 173  ff.,  199  ff., 
3ind  passim, 

Gauls,  as  enamellers,  175,  196. 

Gepidae,  the,  53,  90,  127. 

Germain  des  Pres,  St.,  ceme- 
tery near  church  of,  148. 

Germans,  the :  service  in  the 
Roman  army,  35  ;  origi- 
nal seats,  40,  physical 
type,  41,  stature,  42,  dress, 
44,  coiffure,  43 ;  divisions, 
52  f. ;  movements,  59  ff., 
settlements,  97 ;  conver- 
sion, 57 ;  independence 
in  taste,  183;  work  in 
wood,  209  : 
German  women,  49  f ,  114,  131 
f.,  157;  their  dress,  49  f., 
their  parure,  132  ff. : 
See  also  "Art,  Teutonic,"  and 
passim. 

Gifts,  by  Romans  to  Barbarians, 
28,  66. 


243 


INDEX 


Glass  ;  beads  of,  1 50  f. ;  manu- 
facture of,  151  ;  vessels 
of,  160. 

Gospels  of  Lindisfarne,  20. 

Goths,  the  ;  history  of,  64  ff. ; 
art  of,  see  "  Art " ;  divi- 
sions of,  53,  65  ;  dress 
of,  46 ;  ethnography  of, 
52. 

Gotland,  inlaid  brooches  of,  200. 
Granulated  work,  see  "Tech- 
niques." 
Gratian,  Emperor,  39. 
Greaves,  126. 

Greek;  brooches,  136;  enamels, 
196  ;  inlaid  work,  230  ; 
jewellery,  177,  194,  196. 

Gregory  of  Tours,  quoted,  1 20. 

Griffin,  the,  181  f.,  198,  215. 

Guilloche,  the,  212. 

Hadrianople,  battle  at,  72. 

Hair ;  how  worn  by  the  Ger- 
mans, 43,  49 ;  pins  for, 
149. 

Hallstatt,  culture  of,  168,  205. 
Hampel,  Dr.  Joseph ;  quoted, 

III ;  referred  to,  104,  105, 

21 5,  222. 
Hanover,  finds  in,  38,  158. 
Harmignies,  Belgium,  cemetery 

at,  102. 

Harnham  Hill,  Wiltshire,  ceme- 
tery at,  103. 
Harpoon,  the  modern,  124. 
Hazel-nuts,   in    bronze  bowls. 

Head,  animal,  as  terminal,  220  f. 
Helmet,  113,  117  ;  from  Vid, 

Dalmatia,  214. 
Herminones,  53. 
Hermunduri,  the,  54. 


Herpes,  Charente,  France,  ceme- 
tery at,  71,  loi,  159. 

Heruli,  the,  53,  66. 

High  Down,  Sussex,  cemetery 
at,  103. 

Hodgkin,  Dr.,  quoted,  42,  68, 
87,  129. 

Horse,  the,  buried  with  the 
warrior,  49,  112,  113; 
trappings  of,  100  f.;  use 
of,  48  f. 

Hrotrud,  daughter  of  Charles  the 
Great,  132. 

Human  figure,  the,  as  orna- 
mental motive,  19  f.,  224. 

Hungary,  cremation  in,  105  ; 
finds  in,  25,  26  f.,  104, 
153,  181,  191  ;  Teutons 
in,  71,  87. 

Huns,  the,  70,  7 1  f. ;  importance 
of  their  invasion,  5. 

Ingvaeones,  53. 

Inhumation  and  cremation,  104  f. 

Inlaid  work,  see  "  Techniques." 

Interlacing- work,  21 1  f. ;  its  con- 
nection with  zoomorphic 
ornament,  224. 

Inventorium  Sepulchrale^  re- 
ferred to,  103. 

Ipswich,  cemetery  at,  103,  150. 

Irish  MSS.,  207,  213,  230. 

Istvaeones,  54. 

Jalalabad,  find  near,  180. 

Japan,  its  art,  227  f. 

Jewels;   in  tombs,  114;  their 

popularity,  137. 
Jordanes,  quoted,  66. 
Julian,  Emperor,  82  ;  his  battle 

with  the  Alemanni,  44, 

49. 


INDEX 


Justinian,  Emperor,  136. 

Jutes,  the,  53,  55  ;  their  migra- 
tion to  Britain,  182;  art 
of,  see  "Art." 

Juveniles,  graves  of,  113. 

Kemble,  referred  to,  99,  105. 
Kerch,  cemeteries  at,  loi  ;  finds 
at,  145. 

Keszthely,  Hungary,  cemetery 
at,  loi,  105,  III,  215. 

"Keszthely  Group,''  the,  181, 
215. 

Kettlach,  Austria,  finds  at,  197. 

Keys,  153,  157. 

Kiev,  finds  near,  145. 

"  Kingston,"  brooch,  the,  112,1 37. 

Kingston  Down,  Kent,  ceme- 
teries on,  12,  107. 

Kisa,  Dr.,  his  Glass  in  Antiquity 
quoted,  151. 

Knife,  121,  153. 

Kremsmiinster     Chalice,  see 

"Tassilo  Cup." 
"  Kunstwollen,"  Riegl's  theory 

of,  171  ff. 

"Lacertine"  forms,  216,  224. 

La  Tene,  culture  and  art  of,  118, 
141,  168,  194,  205. 

Late-Celtic  Art,  see  "  Art,  Late- 
Celtic." 

Late  Roman  Artistic  Industry^ 

Riegl's,  see  "  Riegl." 
Lengerich,  in  Hanover,  find  at, 

38. 

Leopard,  the,  in  ornament,  2i9f. 
"  Limes,"  the  Roman  in  Germany, 
62,  83. 

Lindenschmit ;    quoted,    100 ; 

referred  to,  12,  99,  122. 
Lion,  the,  in  ornament,  2i9f. 

245 


Lombards,  the,  86  ff.,  90,  93  ; 
art  of,  see  "Art";  ethnog- 
raphy of,  52,  87. 
Louis,  son  of  Charles  the  Great, 
18. 

Liineburg     Heath,  cremation 

cemeteries  on,  103. 
Lussy,  Fribourg,  finds  at,  150, 
157. 

Magnentius,  39 ;  receives  aid 

from  Saxons,  37  f. 
Mail,  coat  or  shirt  of,  113,  117. 
Marcomanni,  the,  53,  60. 
Marcomannic  War,  of  Marcus 
Aurelius,6,37,  53,  63^,87. 
Marcus    Aurelius,    37,    63  f.  ; 

column  of,  43,  46,  50. 
Maurice,  St.,  Valais,  reliquary  at, 
22,  198. 

Medallions,  Roman,  27  f.,  193, 

208. 
Menhir,  107. 
"  Mercatores,"  34. 
Merobaudes,  39. 
Merwings,  the,  44,  89. 
Migrations ;    Teutonic,  their 
date,  4  f.,  their  artistic  im- 
portance, 1 1, 164, 1 69, their 
range,  4f.; 
Of  the  Alemanni,  82,  of  the 
Angles,     182,     of  the 
Bastarnae,    59,     of  the 
Bavarians,  54,  of  the  Bur- 
gundians,    83  f.,  of  the 
Franks,    89  f.,     of  the 
Goths,  65  ff.,  of  the  Jutes, 
1 82,  of  the  Lombards,  86  f., 
of  the  Ostrogoths,  72  f., 
of  the  Saxons,  182,  of  the 
Vandals,  78  f.,  of  the  Visi- 
goths, 67  f. 


INDEX 


Mi llefiori  gldiss^  151. 
Modar,  39. 

Montelius,  Professor  Oscar,  re- 
ferred to,  104,  140,  168. 

Monza  objects  in  treasury  at, 
22,  198;  paintings  at,  17. 

Moors,  the,  71,  93. 

Morris,  William,  his  views,  172. 

Mosaics,  17,  136  ;  in  pavements, 
212. 

Moulds,  for  sheet  metal  work, 
191. 

Much,  Professor,  referred  to,  197. 
Miiller,  Sophus,  see  "  Sophus 
Muller." 

Narses,  74,  127. 

Nagy  Szent  Miklos,  find  at,  26, 
181. 

Necklets,  25,  76,  195. 

NemaBritannica^xefexYQd  to,  12. 

Nibelungenlied^  56,  84. 

Niello,  see  "  Techniques." 

Nikopol,  vase  from,  at  St.  Peters- 
burg, 214. 

Nordendorf,  Bavaria,  cemetery 
at,  103. 

Nydam  Moss,  Schleswig,  finds 
in,  118,  186. 

Objects,  Customs,  etc.,  peculiar 
to  or  characteristic  of  the 
various  peoples  and  dis- 
tricts : 

Alemanni,  (scramasax)  121  ; 

Angles,  (cremation)  106  ; 

Anglo-Saxons,  (broad  axes) 
126,  (round  brooches) 
137,  ("saucer"  brooches) 
137,  (carved  crosses)  16, 
20,  (enamelled  bowls)  206, 
(open  spear  sockets)  122  ; 


Objects,  Customs,  etc. : 

Burgundians,  (buckles)  19, 
43,  133,  148,  (absence 
of  combs)  154,  (religious 
objects)  84,  (scramasax) 
121; 

Celts,  (penannular  brooches) 

135 ; 

Franks,  (axe)  124,  (angon) 
124,  (buckles)  43,  133, 

148,  (coiffure)  44,  (open 
spear  sockets)  122,  (plate 
brooches)  135,  (sarco- 
phagi, ornamented)  17, 
108,  (scramasax)  121  ; 

Goths,  (bird  forms)  138,  148, 
(garnet  inlays)  181  f. ; 

Jutes,  (bronze  bowls)  159, 
(inlays)  182,  200,  (plate 
brooches)  135,  (tumuli) 
107,  (white  substance  in 
inlays)  200 ; 

Lombards,  (crosses,  gold)  88, 

149,  191,  (fibulae)  88, 
(umbos,  shield)  88,  128  ; 

North,  the,  (square  headed 

fibulae)  142  ; 
Rhineland,  (bronze  bowls)  1 59, 

(glass  vessels)  160  ; 
Saxons,     (plate  brooches) 

135;  . 

Scandinavians,  (bracteates) 
156,  (penannular  broo- 
ches) 135,  (retention  of 
pagan  forms)  2 1  ; 

South,  the,  (round  headed 
fibulae)  142  ; 

Suevi,  (coiffure)  43  ; 

Vandals,  (iron  work)  79. 
Odoacer,  51. 

Orientation,  of  graves,  108  f. 
Originality  in  art,  227. 


246 


INDEX 


Ormside  bowl,  the,  at  York, 
190. 

Ornament;  acanthus,  96,  210, 
213;  anthropomorphic, 
224  ;  barbaric,  its  char- 
acter 229  f . ;  "chip-carv- 
ing" patterns,  208  f.  ; 
flamboyant,  206,  230 ; 
foliage,  96,  210,  213  f., 
215  ;  geometrical,  207 
f . ;  interlacing,  211  ff.  ; 
"  scroll,"  210  ;  spiral,  167, 
206  ;  step-pattern,  207  ; 
zoomorphic,  23,  215  ff., 
its  origin,  217,  its  con- 
nection with  interlacing 
work,  224. 

Orosius,  referred  to,  69. 

Ostrogoths,  the,  72  f.,  92  ;  art  of, 
see  "Art." 

Oxus,  Treasure  of  the,  178. 

Pahlavi,  inscription  in,  180. 
Painting,  in  the  migration  period, 
17. 

Pastes,  coloured,  as  inlays,  24, 
200. 

Patrick,   Saint,   Confession  of, 

referred  to,  80. 
Pendants;  to  the  ear,  152;  to 

fibulae,  I36f. ;  to  necklets, 

152. 

Peran,  Austria,  finds  at,  197,  225. 
Persian  art,  see  "  Art,  Persian." 
Petrossa,  treasure  of,  23,  71,  76, 

181,  199,  219. 
Pewter,  use  of,  138. 
"Pfahlgraben,"  the,  62,  82. 
Philip  the  Arabian,  Emperor, 

66. 

Philostratus,  referred  to,  175. 
"Pilum,"  the  Roman,  123. 


Pins,  150. 
Plait  work,  212. 

Pliny,  the  Elder,  referred  to, 
52. 

Pola,  reliquary  from,  197. 
Pompeii,  finds  at,  133. 
Pomponius  Mela,  referred  to, 
42. 

Portugal;  finds  in,  81  ;  Teutons 

in,  81. 
Pouch,  153. 

Prisons,  his  Legation  to  Attila^ 

referred  to,  51. 
Procopius,  quoted,  129. 
Punches,  use  of,  193. 

Quadi,  the,  53. 
Quiver,  113. 

Raehaebul,  107. 

Ravenna,  finds  near,  77,  138. 

Reccesvinthus,  29. 

Reichenhall,  cemetery  at,  47, 
103,  105,  112. 

Reinecke,  Dr.  Paul,  referred  to, 
III,  197,215. 

Reliquaries,  22,  180,  197,  198. 

Renaissance,  Carolingian,  see 
"  Carolingian  renais- 
sance." 

Repousse,  see  "  Techniques." 
Rhineland,  the,  cemeteries  in, 

icq;  finds  in,  159,  160. 
Ricimer,  39. 

Riegl,  Alois  ;  his  Late  Roman 
Artistic  Industry^  criti- 
cized 178  ff.,  210  ;  referred 
to,  33,  48,  209. 

Riesengebirge,  78. 

Ring,  Childeric's,  31. 

Rings;  arm,  150;  finger,  150; 
neck,  150. 


INDEX 


Rivets,  for  fastening  buckles, 
192. 

Roach  Smith,  referred  to,  12. 

Rock-crystal ;  balls,  1 56  ;  beads, 
154  ;  spindle  whorls,  154. 

"  Roma,"  representation  of,  136. 

Roman  ;  altars,  209  ;  arms,  1 1 7 
ff. ;  brooches,  see  "  fibu- 
Ise " ;     fibulas,  (bronze, 

144,  169,  (cross-bow)  141, 
143,  (round)  136 ;  influ- 
ence on  the  North,  34, 
168  f ,  203  {. ;  receptivity, 
33,  209 ;  trade  routes  to 
the  North,  203. 

Roman  or  Teutonic,"  question 
of,  13  f,  32  f,  117  f.,  169 
ff.,  183,  216  ff. 

Romanesque,  its  relation  to 
early  Germanic  art,  i,  96. 

Rugii,  the,  53. 

Rumania,  finds  in,  23,  21.  See 
also  "Petrossa,  Treasure 
of" 

Runes,  76  f ,  209. 
Runic  inscriptions,  9,  25,  76  f., 
107. 

Russia,  Southern,  75,  loi,  117, 

145,  178  220. 

Sackrau,  finds  at,  78,  144,  150, 
194. 

Safety  pin,  see  "  Fibulae." 
Saffron  Walden,  Essex,  cemetery 
at,  103. 

Salin,  Dr.  Bernhard ;  quoted, 
216;  referred  to,  156,  207, 
208,  210,  215,  217,  218. 

Samson,  Belgium,  cemetery  at, 
113- 

Sarcophagi,  108 ;  ornamented, 
17,  108. 


Sarmatians  ;  bows  and  cloaks  of 
the,  39  ;  their  equestrian 
tastes,  49. 

Sasanian  art,  see  "Art,  Sa- 
sanian." 

Saxons,  the,  53,  93,  182  ;  assist 
Magnentius,  37  f 

Scandinavia  ;  art  of,  see  "  Art "  ; 
as  mother  of  peoples,  41, 
64,  86 ;  finds  in,  30,  34, 
104,  118,  119,  127,  135, 
138,150,  155,  157,  166  ff., 
182,  186,  201,  208. 

Schleswig,  finds  in,  30,  118,  127, 
186. 

Schneider,  Robert  von,  of  Vien- 
na, 174. 
Sciri,  the,  53. 

Scramasax,  113,  117,  Ii9f. 
"Scroll"  ornament,  210. 
Sculpture ;    in    the  migration 

period,  16 ;  in  stone,  16, 

20,    209,   214,  216;  in 

wood,  209. 
Selzen,in  Rhine-Hesse, cemetery 

at,  102. 
Semper,  on  Style,  172. 
Seneca,  quoted,  34. 
Shears,  154. 
Sheaths,  120. 
Shells,  "  Cypraea,"  156. 
Shield,     113,     126     ff.  ;  the 

"  Thames,"  230. 
Siberia,     art    of,    see  ''Art, 

Siberian." 
Siberian  gold- work,  175. 
Sidonius  Apollinaris,  34,  147  ; 

quoted,  42. 
Skins,  as  dress,  44,  48. 
Slavs,  the,  59,  92. 
Smithing,  see  "  Techniques." 
Soissons,  91. 


248 


INDEX 


Sophus  Miiller,  Dr. ;  quoted,  216; 

referred  to,  8,  104,  106, 

168,218. 
Spain ;  finds  in,  29, 139 ;  Teutons 

in,  79,  80,  93  ;  Visigothic 

architecture  in,  16. 
Spatha,  113,  118. 
Spear,  spear-head,  113,  122  ff., 

185  ;  small  in  graves  of 

boys,  113. 
Spirals,  211  ;  of  Bronze  age,  167, 

210  ;    Celtic,   206,   210 ; 

Germanic,  211. 
Spit,  roasting,  1 57. 
Spoons,  perforated,  156. 
Sporran,  see  "  Pouch  " 
Spurs,  161. 

Stapenhill,   Derbyshire,  ceme- 
tery at,  103. 
Step-pattern,  in  cloisons,  207. 
Stihcho,  39. 
Stirrups,  161. 

Stones,  sculptured,  16,  20,  209, 

214,  216. 
Strap  ends,  47,  149,  215. 
Strassburg,  battle  near,  44,  49. 
Strike-a-lights,  157. 
Strzygowski,  Josef,  referred  to, 

21,  214. 
Studs,  149. 

Style  in  the  Technical  and  Con- 
structive Arts,  Semper's, 
172. 

Suevi,  the,  43,  60,  8of. ;  their 

coiffure,  43. 
Susa,  finds  at,  177. 
Suuk-su,  Crimea,  cemetery  at, 

lOI. 

Svinthila,  29. 

Switzerland;  finds  in,  22, 86,  loi, 
148,  153,  157,  189,  223; 
Teutons  in,  85. 


Sword,  sword-blade,  117,  Ii8ff., 

186. 
Syagrius,  91. 

Syrian  merchants,  as  importers, 
151. 

Szilagy  Somlyo,  Hungary,  finds 
at,  26  f.,  145,  198,  221. 

Tacitus  ;  quoted,  35  ;  referred 
to,  37,  40,  42,  44,  49,  97, 
105,  122,  139,  165. 

Tangs,  see  "  Strap-ends." 

Taplow,  Bucks,  tumulus  at, 
ICQ ;  finds  in,  157,  159. 

Tassilo  Cup,  3,  20,  22  f.,  96. 

Tausia-work,  see  "  Techniques." 

Techniques;  casting,  143,  159, 
192;  chasing,  193;  da- 
mascening, 1 86  f. ;  dyeing, 
51  ;  enamelling,  26,  171, 
173,  175,  1^2,  193,  195  ff.  ; 
filigree  work,  194  ;  granu- 
lated work,  194  ;  inlaying, 
23,  I73ff.  I76ff,  i88f., 
195,  199  f.,  (transparent) 
181, 199 ;  niello,  195  ;  plat- 
ing i87f.,  repousse  and 
sheet  metal  work,  190  f.; 
smithing,  185  f.;  stamp- 
ing, 193  ;  tausia  work, 
187  f.  ;  tinning,  189. 

Teias,  Ostrogothic  king,  I29f. 

Teutonic  Art,  see  "Art,  Teu- 
tonic"; migrations,  see 
"  Migrations,  Teutonic." 

Teutons,  the,  see  "Germans,the." 

"  Thames  shield,"  the,  230. 

Theodora,  Empress,  136. 

Theodoric :  Ostrogothic  king, 
73  f.,  187  ;  his  dress,  51  ; 
his  tomb  at  Ravenna,  16  : 
Visigothic  king,  70. 


INDEX 


Theudebert,  Frankish  king,  90. 
Theudelinda,  Queen,  17,  22. 
Thorsberg  Moss,  finds  in,  119. 
Thrasemund,  Vandal  king,  187. 
Thuringi,  the,  54. 
Tischler,  Otto ;    quoted,   165  ; 

referred  to,  13,  140,  197. 
Toledo,  votive  crowns ;  at,  29  ; 

found  near,  29,  71. 
Tomb  Furniture,  3,  30,  55,  106, 

1 09  f.,  175,  and  passim. 
Tombstones,  107 ;  Roman,  17, 

43,  46. 

Toulouse,  Visigothic  kingdom 

of,  70,  71,  91. 
Tournay,  find  at,  30. 
Trajan,  Emperor,  61. 
Treasure  of  the  Oxus^  Dalton's, 

178. 

Trento,  finds  near,  88,  145. 
Tressant,  Herault,  cemetery  at, 

lOI. 

Trews,  the,  45. 
Tumblers,  160. 
Tumulus,  100,  107. 
Turcilingi,  the,  53. 
Typology,  202  f. 

Ulfilas,  68,  77. 

Umbos,  of  shields,  88,  128,  185. 
Undiho,  23. 

Urns ;  sepulchral  or  cinerary, 
157  f.  ;  non-cinerary,  159. 

Valence  d'Agen,  near  Toulouse, 
find  at,  139. 

"  Vandalici  Montes,"  78. 

Vandals,  the,  78  ff.,  92 ;  art 
of,  see  "  Art "  ;  ethnog- 
raphy of,  52. 

Vasari,  referred  to,  187. 

Velleius  Paterculus,  quoted,  87. 

Venice,  glass  making  at,  151. 

2 


Vermand,  north-eastern  France, 

cemetery  at,  80. 
Vessels,  i57ff. 

Vettersfeld,  Prussia,  find  at,  179, 
204. 

Victoria  History  of  the  Counties 
of  England^  8,  104. 

Vikings,  the,  93  ;  art  of  their 
period, see  "Art";  stirrups 
and  spurs  of,  161  ;  swords 
of,  119  ;  their  inroads,  6. 

Vine-and-bird  ornament,  20,  213. 

Visigoths,  the,  68  ff.,  93  ;  art  of, 
see  Art"  ;  cross  Danube 
46 ;  dress  of,  46 ;  in 
Spain,  16,  80. 

Votive  deposits,  3,  29  f.,  118. 

Waben,  Pas  de  Calais,  find  at, 
198. 

Waggon,  use  of  the,  50. 
Warrior,  Germanic,  his  panoply, 

113,  ii7f. 
Weapons,  see    Arms  "  ;  missile, 

124  f. 

White  substance,  in  Jutish,  etc., 
jewels,  200. 

Whorls,  spindle,  154. 

Wilbraham,  Little,  Cambs,  ceme- 
tery at,  103. 

Wittenham,  Long,  Berks,  ceme- 
tery at,  103. 

Wolfsheim,  Rhineland,  find  at, 
180,  199. 

Women,  German,  see  "  Ger- 
mans, the." 

Wood- work  forms,  208  f. 

Worms,  Rhineland,  finds  at,  157. 

Ziko,  Hungary,  cemetery  at,  1 1 1. 
Zoomorphic      ornament,  see 
"  Ornament,  Zoomorphic." 
Zosimus,  referred  to,  37. 


GETTY  RESEARCH  INSTITUTE 

3  3125  01450  5826 

